Psalm 19:14

Here is another mention of Gunner, the current Dean of Men at TMC. It seems that he is doing a series at Master's on college and real life. He says that many people view their college years as not counting towards the rest of life. Gunner says that many people live as if these years will not count, that God will not hold them accountable because these years aren't real life, they're just practice.
False.
God will hold us accountable for every day, which is a sobering thought, to say the least.
Gunner goes on to say that we need to be practicing now for real life. Even though I have graduated from college, I still am in this preparation period as I get my credential and am learning from others. Soon I will be responsible for my own students' education, but not quite yet.
Any way, Gunner made the point that the training is not any less real than the performance, it is only different. A person cannot leave college or a credential program and expect to be successful and effective if he or she has not be living with the real life mindset all along. The following quote really struck me:

"The best performers are the best practicers. The best presenters are the best preparers. The best competitors are the best conditioned. The best soldiers are the best boot-campers. Those who are diligent in private are influential in public."

I was convicted by these blog posts. I can't go back and change those 4 years, but I can change this semester as I teach 2 more weeks in high school and 8 in junior high. I can choose to live in the present while still looking to the future, and I can make decisions accordingly. I'll end with a few question I sometimes have in the back of my mind when I hear people talk about their future plans:

What are you doing now to prepare for that? How can you shape your character and your skills now for that future dream? It will be here before you know it; are you ready?