Anne Lamott once said to write the book you wish you would happen upon.
Contemplations of a Collegiate Christian is that book.
Every book on college I had previously found in a bookstore was always a how-to, or “ten rules to succeed,” or written by someone who was far too old to relate or far too motivated to be realistic. I needed to read a book for an average 20-year-old with mess-ups and mayhem, a book that was filled with grace and offered me joy before I built the “10 essential habits to success” (that would last about two weeks).
I needed a book that met me where I was: broken, dreaming, in love with my youth, but also trying to prepare for adulthood, and doing my very best (and often failing) at keeping Jesus at the center of it all.
I needed a book that was written by a Christian college student.
So that’s what I wrote.
This book is the organized version of my memories and lessons that were scribbled in journals, jotted down on Post-it notes, tucked in the pages my Bible, captured in photographs, hidden in voice memos, and etched into the cervices of my heart.
So this one is for college, and for the God who met me in all the chaos it was. This one is for the late nights, the pots on pots of off-brand coffee, the shared music and crushes and laughter, the knowledge I gained on and off campus, the midnight break downs, the all-to-common mid-semester crisis, the fear of adulting, the love of youth, the excitement for never-ending potential, the sporadic dancing, the risk that makes it so scary yet so worth it, the challenge of discovering your passions and dreams with the God who wrote the story, who knows every detail and is sovereign over it all.
This book is a letter from one college student to another,
as a testament to all that these four years have been,
all that they can be,
if we choose to accept the love of a Father who really does care for
fumbling,
laughing,
faltering,
silly,
sinful,
ridiculous,
wild,
reckless
college students like us.
I love you, college students. He loves you. This one is for you.
Email me at mmschumpert@gmail.com if you want to read the book early and get exclusive access by joining the launch team.
earth to mm 