Walking with a Purpose
By: Jase Banks
One of my favorite Christmas movies growing up was It’s a Wonderful Life. What has always stuck out to me the most is the kindness of the main character, George Bailey. I admire how caring and compassionate George is—he uproots his dreams and ambitions to travel the world to stay in Bedford Falls and run his father’s business after his death. George even saves his brother from drowning at the expense of his own hearing. I find this film to be one of my favorites given how much I can relate to George as a character.
Like George, I can remember being a child and having big dreams for myself. In the film, he is forced to put his dreams on hold due to the passing of his father; this in many ways was like my experience during the pandemic. In my eyes, I had my plans figured out. But flash forward to 2019: I graduated from high school and started community college, still holding onto the dream of one day becoming a journalist. Then suddenly, I had to put my dreams on hold. I can remember the one week of lockdown turning into a month, and then into years. I grew accustomed to every day feeling like a weekend and to lounging around in my sweatpants. While many saw this period of isolation as an opportunity for self-growth, for me it was a time for self-reflection, and I came out of quarantine questioning what my purpose was.
That question didn’t go away, even though I tried to distract myself from it. After transferring to the University of Virginia, I, like George, began to question what I was doing here. I turned to the Bible, especially one verse in Deuteronomy: “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you. He will never leave or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed” [1]. I found it comforting to know that the Lord goes before me; he walks alongside me wherever I go. This verse was especially comforting during those moments when I struggled to feel God’s love and presence. However, as I stayed up late at night working on homework that I procrastinated starting, or even when I sat alone eating dinner at O’hill Dining Hall, I questioned, “Why am I at the University of Virginia? Why am I Jase?” Not to mention that I transferred in the spring semester, which is not a typical time to transfer, and I began to question God’s timing as well.
A few days into my time at UVA, I found a table with two guys who greeted me with a warm embrace. Through this moment, I was reminded of who the Lord is to me: a friend who meets me where I’m at, like these two guys did. After asking me a few questions, they invited me to go to something called Monday Night Live, which was foreign to me. I soon found that the place where I thought I would need to minimize my faith to fit in would instead provide exactly what I needed to grow in my faith. At the end of It’s a Wonderful Life, George Bailey is reunited with his family. In my story, I am accepted by my friends and housemates, who have emphasized the fact that I’m not here to just take up space, but that I am, as Psalm 139:14 says, “fearfully and wonderfully made” [2]. This verse points out that the Lord holds me in such high regard, given that he created me and knew me before I was even born. Therefore, Psalm 139:14 connects to my story through emphasizing the value that I add to UVA and my friends through my presence.
The fact that I am seen as precious in the eyes of the Lord influences the way that I treat others. For example, I no longer see people as just people; rather, I see them for the value that they bring. What’s more, through knowing how valuable I am in the sight of the Lord, I am more confident than ever that I can face anything that comes my way because God walks alongside me.
[1] Deuteronomy 31:8, The Holy Bible, ESV
[2] Psalm 139:14, The Holy Bible, ESV
Jase is a fourth year studying history
