As we progress throughout the semester, weighed down by tests, papers, projects and such, we often lose sight of what is really important in our lives…consider the parable of the Prodigal Son. .

The infamous story about a boy, who was overly-consumed with the secular desires of wealth, infamy, and sex that he lost sight of what truly mattered. How is this different from the forces that drive us everyday? Just because we have become so preoccupied by seemingly “innocent” and “ambitious” desires like a high grades and enhanced self-sufficiently, does not give us an “escape from jail free card.” It is imperative that we still uphold the priorities that we established when academic pressure was a distant factor.

I understand as well as the next person that working hard and achieving the best grades possible should be prioritized above several other secular desires, but in front of faith? I am not going to dwell on what should and should not be emphasized in your life because that depends on what is important to you; rather, I just want to illuminate the notion that God doesn’t disappear when your grade is not a high as you would have liked or you let down your group on an important project.

Similarly, he is just as present when you achieve better than expected and ace a difficult exam. Like the prodigal son, we must recognize that God will be there through thick and thin and thanking God after success is just as important as asking God to help following a despairing event. Lucky for us, God doesn’t prioritize secular desires over his children…isn’t it about time we return the favor?