All Night Long

Before you break into a Lionel Richie impersonation, I want to clarify what kind of "all night" we are talking about. For some, college is the time they choose to "sow their wild oats." But for the majority, it's taken as a serious responsibility. As one who can look back now, twenty-one years later, I would even call it a privilege. For students who put their studies first and see college as a means to a more successful end, pulling an "all-nighter" refers not to partying til dawn but to sacrificing sleep in favor of academic duties.

I stayed up late dozens of times, but I only officially pulled an "all-nighter" once. I had waited until the last minute to finish the reading and subsequent essay writing for an English class, and somehow I had missed the deadline for the final project in my Children's Literature class--the instructor had given me until the next morning if I wanted a grade for the class. Call it pride, OCD, or a surge of personal responsibility--but I was not about to take an incomplete. I had worked hard in the class, and all I needed was one last, big push. If I recall, I had some sort of final history exam to study for as well. It was going to be a very long night.

The reading was tedious, and because I had to refer back to the book for quotations and specific examples--so was the writing. I drained a whole pot of coffee that night, and as the sun came up I could not believe I had never gone to bed. I must be crazy, I reasoned. But the truth was--I was determined. Even though it took all night, I wanted to do the best job humanly possible, along with the help of the Lord's sustaining power and large amounts of caffeine.

I ended the semester with A's in all those courses. I concluded that all the late nights--as well as the "night that I watched become day"--had been worth it. Even though I wished I had planned better, used my time more wisely, and not procrastinated, I had stuck it out and accomplished the goal. Thirty-eight hours awake, and I was still standing...somehow. I kept myself awake that next day by writing things down and trying to "sit up straight" so as to stay alert.

Sometimes late-blooming persistence comes with a little bit of regret--that if only one had done a better job with time-management, this frantic "blaze of glory" would not have been necessary. But I learned from that experience--not only to do things differently the next time but that I could do just about anything if I had the right motivation.

In the Christian life, everything we do should be motivated by love--receiving Christ's love motivates us to carry out God's will with a sincere heart and honest faith. Because I cared about my future--and knew that God had paved the way for me to be at Oregon State University--I was willing to go the extra mile.

I don't recommend study all-nighters...or the other kind, for that matter...but I do know this--God is able to do "immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,..." (Eph. 3:20). To Him be all the glory--even if we lose a bit of sleep.