As spring semester begins at Missouri Baptist University, students are settling in to new routines and new relationships. With that comes stress. MBU Timeline bloggers are answering the following question: What are you struggling with and how are you coping?
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By VLADYMI JOSEPH
Something that I am struggling with right now in my life is confidence and not believing in myself.
From time to time I constantly feel like I can’t complete a task or that I won’t ever be successful at something. At times things don’t feel like it’s going my way and it brings my confidence down.
The way I try to deal with it is by taking in advice that friends and family give me.
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By KARA SASIELA
One thing I am struggling with right now is dealing with the end of a friendship.
It’s not the fact of how to accept the end because I have. It is how to move past those awkward moments when we still see each other.
We, in fact, have two classes together right now and it is a strange situation.
How I’ve been dealing with it is still smiling or saying hi to her, but sitting and talking with someone else.
I have already made a new friend in one of the classes so things are going pretty well.
It helps knowing that the end of our friendship was in God’s will for us and that it was time for us to part ways for the better.
I can take solace in the fact that God is there for the both of us and our lives will improve from this, so this is how I am able to deal with this current struggle in my life.
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By JOSHUA DAUGETTE
I am struggling with a massive case of financial duress. Bills continually pile up and I struggle to pay them.
I always think I am beginning to catch up, but then another bill hits me and sets me back.
No amount of hours I work or money I make seems to hold up to the massive amount of spending I have to do just to keep afloat. My income is not more than my deficit, and I am beginning my struggle to survive.
In terms of dealing with my struggle, no solution has become available yet. There are only so many hours in the day and so many days of the week I can work; it seems like no matter how much I do, my money is just perpetually taken by some collection.
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By ABBY CRAIN
Right now, I am struggling with fear.
This is not fear of something bad happening, but of something that I want to happen not happening.
To make a (very) long story short, I have a friend who came to MoBap last semester who is unsaved.
In that one semester, he became one of my best friends, but he was unable to come back this semester and my fear is that he will lose all the interest in Christ that he gained while he was here.
That may seem a little irrational, but fears are rarely rational thoughts to begin with.
I am facing this fear by praying — and praying hard — that God will open this friend’s eyes to the truth; I also keep in contact with my friend and attempt to share Christ’s love with him each chance I get without pushing it on him.
I know a small seed was planted in my friend’s heart by many of the people he encountered at MoBap, and it is my hope and prayer that it will be watered by others and eventually sprout to bear fruit for the Lord.
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By CHRISTOPHER CURRY
This assignment is probably the biggest thing that I am struggling with, as I am a very private person not accustomed to opening up about myself to anyone.
On top of that I am also not a writer, nor am I a numbers person, I am right in between the two.
I am dealing with this by stepping out of my comfort zone and stretching myself to become better at writing.
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By JESSE KASSEBAUM
For me I am struggling with guilt. The guilt with how I have treated people in the past and how I feel like no matter what I do I just can’t seem to get it right.
I have said some pretty hurtful things to some people and though I say I am sorry and ask for forgiveness, which they give, I still struggle with the repercussions of it. It is definitely something I would never have guessed I would struggle with.
It is hard to know exactly how to deal with it but I think the most basic thing is to just simply move on. What’s past is past and I am who I am now and who I am now is better than who I was.
Is it hard to think this way? Absolutely. When you start dwelling on your past it can and will affect who you are now and what you will do in the future.
Moving on, however, is easier said than done and a lot of the times the things that would seem so simple and easy are often times the hardest things to do.
Prayer is something that has helped me currently and will continue to help me as the days go by and maybe, no, one day I will move on and leave my past in the past and give thanks and praise to God for who He has made me now.
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By SIERRA THOMPSON
Recently I have been struggling with what I want to do with my life.
I tend to change my mind often. I feel very uneasy and unsure with every decision I make.
I have been trying to turn to God in order to find an answer to my problems.
I want to have direction and I want to feel that I have a purpose.
I feel that God has led me to this place in my life for a reason that I just cannot comprehend.
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By HOLLY FLIEG
This is my first semester here at Missouri Baptist University. I transferred here from Mineral Area College, which is much closer to home.
The transfer has been a huge change for me because I have moved away from all of my family and friends.
At my previous college, I was able to create my schedule with my friends so that we did everything together.
Thankfully I get along with my new roommate very well.
I call my friends and family every chance I get, and I am already planning my first visit home.
I am so lucky to have such an amazing support system to help encourage me through with next chapter in my life.
Being away from my small town has been a challenge, but I know it is a step in the right direction.
Triston Buckley 
Emily Retzer