When Reid Mills was a senior at American Christian Academy in Tuscaloosa, he attended Calvary Baptist Church, Tuscaloosa, in Tuscaloosa Baptist Association where he had grown up. But Mills is now a freshman at Mississippi College in Clinton living nearly three hours from home. He is learning the differences of living on his own as well as ways to spiritually cope.
“Now that I’m on my own, it’s easy to let things slip away,” Mills said. “In order to deal with the challenges, the key word for me would be discipline.”
While he was in high school, staying in church wasn’t always simple. He had to make tough decisions. Many of the students from Mills’ class who were part of the youth group as junior high students were no longer attending regularly. And he is now seeing a similar trend carried over into the college years.
‘You just want to do it’
“In comparison to high school, it is different, but those factors still remain when it comes to your choices,” Mills said. “When you get [to college], there will be people that won’t have anything to do with [spirituality], and there’s people that know it’s worth it and grow closer to the Lord. You don’t need people at home telling you to do it, because you just want to do it.”
Mills gives a lot of credit for his choices to his parents, who challenged him — but did not force him — to make good decisions.
“I watched [my parents’] lives and knew I wanted to be like them and be as spiritual as my parents,” Mills said.
“When I get weary, I just remember that I want to be like my dad or mom because they taught me, and I want to one day teach my kids.”
Mills said for him, his daily life is simply “a faith thing.”
“I’ve only been [at school] for four weeks and you never know what’s coming,” he said. “It’s a whole new world for me because I came here knowing hardly anyone. I’m having to start over in faith trusting God to lead me. I have no idea what to do, so I just let Him guide me day by day knowing I’m not in control. He is.” (TAB)
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