A Christian Perspective On Exams
Three tips to tackle exam season as a Christian:
Remember you are human: My first tip is to remember that, even in the midst of an incredibly busy and pressured time, we do best when we embrace and remember our human needs. Although it might be tempting to burn the candle at both ends and study from early morning until… into the morning again, we will actually remember things better and produce work that will best reflect our abilities if we get adequate sleep. The same goes for eating, hydrating, and spending time doing things we find restful or enjoyable. Yes, we might not have time to whip up wonderful dinners or have day trips, but could you still buy bits in Lidl that you could make into a nutritious meal in half an hour, say, rather than ordering a greasy takeaway that won’t feed your brain? Or could you give your best friend from home a ring for fifteen minutes the night before you have an exam, to get some encouragement and relax a little, rather than thinking you don’t have time for things like that because of stress? Let’s try to remember that God has made us human, with limited capacity, so we need to look after ourselves as much as circumstances allow.
Remember, you are part of a Christian community. Although we may feel like exam time is when we are living in isolation, working away on assignments or studying like crazy in our own little space, it doesn’t have to be that way. Recently, some UCC and MTU CU students spent a night working on their assignments together, pushing each other to finish their work! Are there people in your CU who you think could use a little encouragement or company during this time, or could you use some yourself? Don’t be afraid to suggest a group study session or to create a supportive group environment if you think it would help you or others. Another really practical way we can support each other as brothers and sisters in Christ is to pray for one another. When I was at CU in England back in the day, some years we would have a group document (like a Google Sheet, I believe) where people could put their names down for certain days if they had exams or deadlines. That enabled us to pray for one another and ask how each other was doing, even when we knew the stress one was under, which was a great thing for our community! You might not be able to directly help your brother or sister with their stress, but you have a heavenly Father who can! Praying to him for the good of each other is always worth it. ]
Remember, there are opportunities to serve: Exam season is a time everyone finds tough, so we can bear in mind that others are struggling as much as we are and see where there is room to show the love of Christ. Would the exchange student in your class appreciate having someone with fluent English proofread their essay? Would someone in the year below you benefit from advice on that assignment that you have already done? Being those who don’t look only to our own interests, but who love and serve the body of Christ and those who don’t know Jesus yet, is what makes us distinctive. Maybe pray and ask the Lord to open your eyes to needs around you. Ask him to help you have the wisdom to know how much capacity you have to help others at this point in time, and for the peace over your own work to take a little time to help those who really need a helping hand.
