Recently, someone asked me how my college experience prepared me for my life and career outside of college. Even before the question was fully out of her mouth, my brain flooded with memories of classes, friends, stress, just-under-the-deadline paper submissions, professors, and more. All of it made some kind of impact.

But as far as practical, career-focused impact that translated into dollars and sense (see what I did there?), there was one experience that stands out far beyond anything else. Part of my postsecondary education included a nine-month accelerated program that specialized in medical massage therapy.

During these nine months, my classmates and I learned everything there was to know about massage, from techniques to muscle identification and more. Every day we tried out new techniques and refined basic skills on each other.

Before this training, I was so bad at giving shoulder massages that I accidentally bruised someone from pushing too hard in one spot for too long. On my first day of kinesiology, the only muscles I could name confidently were biceps and abs. And receiving a massage in a classroom full of students isn’t as relaxing as you might think. I remember a day when one student shouted to another student mid-massage, “Are you okay? You seem to be sweating quite profusely!”

But every day that I showed up to learn and practice, things got a little easier. Muscle names and their actions became a little more memorable. Techniques became a little more familiar and comfortable. And when the day came for me to enter the career field, that consistent learning and practice really paid off.

I was immediately thankful for every terrifying quiz on muscle origins and insertions. I was overwhelmingly grateful for every brave practice client who showed up to let me bumble through the least relaxing therapeutic experience of their life. I felt ridiculously calm and collected in job interviews and walking into my first day of work, knowing without a doubt that I was qualified for the job.

This career preparation nostalgia led me to a completely different aha moment: What if a big part of being a Christian means consistently showing up to learn and practice our faith together with others? I mean, what better way to prepare our faith for daily struggles, challenges, and uncertainties than to

• give each other space and grace to admit what parts of the Bible we’re confused by,
• view church and Christian friendships as safe environments to practice love and forgiveness like Jesus did,
• become a little more vulnerable with prayer requests and normalize honest confessions of temptations, failures, and fears.

Sure, there might be moments when someone asks you, “Are you okay? You seem to be sweating quite profusely!” But that sweaty moment of wrestling with Scripture among Jesus-loving friends might lead to a heart full of peace and trust the next time life throws you a serious plot twist.

This week, I challenge you to find a trusted friend with whom you can dig deeper into the Bible. Tell them you want to talk about parts of faith and God that you’re not sure you understand. Tell them you want to talk about your real struggles and you want them to share theirs too. If that sounds overwhelming, start small: Commit to praying for each other once a week.

Don’t stress; it’s just practice. (Try not to bruise anyone.)