Three years ago today, God’s plan to bring awareness to the orphans crisis was fulfilled through me and the girls on my dorm floor. It was such an incredible experience that I will never forget and left a profound impact on my life. In celebration of what God accomplished in this time, I want to share the full story about the experience, based on some previous writings. I hope that in this story you can see how God desires all of us to response to this need, and how God was a part of what happened on my dorm floor that semester. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after widows and orphans in their distress, and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1:27 NIV84) This verse has taken on a whole new meaning to me. It is basically telling us that looking after widows and orphans isn't just a good idea; it’s a call on every Christians’ life. It’s of equal importance from keeping ourselves from worldly pollution. It has become clear to me that specifically in regards to orphans, part of what looking after them means is bringing them out of their distress by helping provide them with a forever family. At the beginning of that semester I ask the girls on my dorm floor to help me raise money and awareness for the fatherless. We started by collecting change on our floor as part of Show Hope’s “Change for Orphans” campaign. I also made bracelets made out of strips of bandannas to remind the girls to pray. I did everything I could to inform the girls that were helping me about what Show Hope is all about and the need to care for orphans. Then about the middle of the semester, I invited an adoptive father, Troy Nelson, OCC’s executive director of admissions, to tell us about his and his wife’s adoption of a little girl from Taiwan. Troy talked to us about the blessing that she had been on their lives and how much they learned to trust God through the process of adoption. This was about the time I began to notice a difference in the girls’ hearts towards the project. As the semester continued, I began to realize that one of the biggest reasons I had become so interested in the orphan crisis was the family and friends in my life that were adopted. This was the motivation of many of us involved in this project, and I didn't want us to forget our gratitude for those who have been adopted. So we decorated one of the walls in our dorm hallway with posters of the children in our lives that are adopted, posters of Scriptures about adoption, and posters that explained the ministry of Show Hope. We had posters that represented the adoptions of 20 different children. We made the posters on bright-colored scrapbook paper that filled that section of the wall. We had it on display during our dorm open house. It was a fun project that eventually had a big impact. As that semester was coming to an end, I was concerned that we would not raise the all the money I had committed to raise. My request to be allowed to take up an offering during our open house was denied and it almost seemed like a dead end. Then we saw God work when we were given permission to do a presentation and an offering in our weekly chapel service. I prepared the presentation that I gave by myself on May 1, 2012. I was pretty nervous about it, since it would be the largest crowd in front of which I had ever done a presentation. I was told just before chapel that most offering bring in between $300 - $500, but not much more than that. We were praying that we would be able to match our goal (since we only had about $65 at that point), but we had no idea what was about to happen. Later that day, I was told that without our money, they brought in over $600. This was our final total. Needless to say, we were all pretty excited! When I told the girls, we cheered joyously together, and rejoiced at what God had done through our efforts. As we talked about what happened, the girls told me that there was something different about people’s reaction to the offering appeal that day that what usually happened with chapel offerings. They noticed a change in the way people reacted as they collected the offering. More people gave than usually, even the people that didn't usually give. One of the girls even told me, “It seemed like everyone wanted to give to help orphans!” I knew in that moment that God had worked on our students and faculty to compel them to give, and we had been a part of something much bigger than ourselves. We took these pictures at our last weekly devotions for the year, in celebration of what God had done through us for the cause of adoption. God was at work during this time in so many ways. This project helped to unite my dorm floor in a special way, for we became a lot closer through this project. Our view of adoption was forever changed and our trust in God has increased. But most importantly, our passion for the fatherless has been kindled and we are all grateful to know that we helped bring another child into a forever family. I can’t wait to see what God does in each of our lives as we continue to care for His children. ________________________________________________________________________________________________ Part of me is still in awe of what God was able to accomplish through my dorm floor that semester. I still have a scrapbook containing all the posters we made for our adoption wall, and I love to look through them every once in a while. I continue to marvel at the stories that were shared and the results of our efforts. By all logic, we shouldn't have been able to raise all the money we did. We shouldn't have been able to even work out to do a chapel offering, but God blessed our efforts for His glory. I was just blessed to be a part of His plan. Since this time, although I have not done any other fundraising efforts, I continue to be a voice for the fatherless in whatever ways I can. I have become sensitive to find the stories of those that have been adopted, and have found great joy every time I heard a new one. I have come to view those who have been adopted in my life to be a blessing that God chose to be in my life. My personal desire to adopt internationally continues to grow (although I want to be married before I pursue this path). God has heighten my awareness and sensitivity on this issue, and I am still amazed that He laid this on my heart and gave me the passion to do something about it. I am so grateful for those who have taken up the call to bring children out of their distress and into a forever family. I am grateful for the girls on my dorm floor that helped me take up this huge call to make a difference in the lives of orphans. But most importantly, I am thankful for the One that brought me out of being spiritual fatherless and chose me to be His child through the sacrifice of His Son. That should be our ultimate motivation to "pay it forward" and make a change for orphans. I encourage everyone to see what they can do to learn more and be involved in some way with the miracle of adoption. You won't regret it. [If you are interested in learning more about the heart and ministry of Show Hope, watch the video below, and visit their website: showhope.org] [If you are interested in reading my advocate story on Show Hope's blog, click here]
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Today, it has been a year since the completion of my music ministry internship at the Fairfield Church of Christ in Fairfield, Ohio. It’s honestly hard to believe it’s been a year, because much of what I learned and experienced while I was there is still so fresh in my memory. Since this 3 ½ month experience was so vast to describe, this post is a compilation of my reflections on the experience from my writings. I hope that those of you that where a part of my experience there will appreciate these memories, and others will be able to appreciate what I learned about the ministries of the church from a different perspective. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ For those that may not know what I did on my internship, this first part is a compilation of notes from the presentation I did about my internship for my home church after I returned. I completed my ministry internship at the Fairfield Church of Christ in Fairfield, Ohio, in the Cincinnati area. My internship was focused on music ministry, since that is the focus of my college degree and a requirement for the completion of my degree. My primary duties consisting of planning and organizing worship, working with the adult praise choir (as a member and as a director), and leading worship team practices. I was especially involved in planning of the Palm Sunday and Easter services. I was considered a part of the church staff while I was there and attended weekly staff meetings. My mentor, Mike Dainton, was a great person to work with. He was very supportive and encouraging, and truly has a heart for the people he serves. From the beginning, he wanted to invest in me and teach me what he knew about ministry. I shared his office space and shared his days off. I felt that I was more than an intern or a college student to him: I was a partner in his ministry. I learned so much because he had confidence in me to do what he needed me to do. In addition to my music ministry duties, I was very involved in the youth ministry, mostly because the youth minster is my cousin, Aaron Hibbard. Aaron gave me the opportunity to teach for one of the high school small groups for Sunday night youth group, because of requirements I had for an online class I was taking. I also enjoyed being involved in some youth group activities while I was there, such as a high school lock-in and CIY Believe. I also involved in our Easter production, called His Final Week. We took the audience through walk thru experience of the Passion Week through a tour of different rooms in the church building. We recreated scenes such as the cleansing of the temple, the last supper, the trial before Pilate, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and some the of the resurrection appearances. In addition to helping the production team, I played the role of Mary Magdalene in one of the four “Jesus groups” (cast groups that performed on rotation). This production was one of the best parts of my internship, both for the learning experience and the fellowship that happened behind the scenes. Since this internship was considered a credited class to finish my degree, I had to do a few written assignments. This is a reflective essay I wrote after I completed my internship, along with the questions I was answering according to my assignment’s instructions. What was the best part of your internship experience? What was the worst part? For me, the best part of my internship was the people of the Fairfield Church of Christ. All the people that I became close to, my mentor, the rest of the staff, my host family, the worship team, the choir, the kids of the youth group, the college age group (those around my age), and those that befriended me in other ways, all impacted my life in those few months I was in Fairfield. I enjoyed life and community in this church in a way that I had not experienced before, and I am so grateful for that experience. The worst part of my internship was learning how to deal with the unexpected changes that occurred often. My mentor Mike Dainton struggled with health issues related to the removal of the sciatic nerve in his right leg after a battle with cancer. Although he is now cancer free, he is still experiencing issues relating to the missing nerve which sometimes prevented him from coming into the office, which meant that a lot more responsibility fell on me and I had to trust the guidance of other staff members or other ministry volunteers. Although I learned a lot about working through unexpected changes, it was probably the most difficult part of my internship. What are the three most valuable lessons you learned during your internship that you will use in your future ministry? I learned many valuable lessons while I was on internship. The most significant was the importance and necessity of flexibility in ministry. Although it was something that I already knew I struggled with, I now see that in order to best serve others (one of primary goals of any ministry), we need to be willing to adapt to whatever situations may come our way. The times that I able to adapt and finish what needed to be done were some of the more fulfilling moments I had, and the most helpful to the whole of the music ministry. I hope to be able to learn more flexibility in my personal life, so that I can better serve others and it will natural overflow into my future ministry endeavors.
When we fail to be creative or think outside of the box, we are not growing, and most likely limiting the people that we can reach. Especially when it comes to the way we present or teach the Word of God, what we do should never be perceived as boring if we can do things to make it more appealing. I hope to be able to think and teach more creatively in general, so that I can apply this to my future ministries. What impact has this internship had on your spiritual life? This internship had changed my life in ways both big and small. I had to learn how to trust in the Lord more than had before, because in the moments that my mentor wasn’t able to help, I struggled with feeling inadequate for fulfill my duties. Through it all, I realized that Christ was able to help me in my inadequacies, and He also helped me to discover talents that I did not know I had that I have been able to use for ministry purposes. Trust in the Lord is an important lesson for anyone to learn, regardless of their situation in life. I also found so much inspiration from my mentor. Mike is amazing man that loves his ministry and loves the people he serves. I know personally how much he loves the people he serves because of the way that he cared about me as a person and became a good friend to me in my time at the church. He genuinely wanted to invest in me from the start and I reaped many blessings from that investment. He especially inspired me through his health issues. Mike was experiencing extremely intense pain related to his missing nerve. Despite his setbacks, he still has his thoughts and prayers with his ministry and the people he served. I hope that when I finally get to my own ministry, I will come have a heart like Mike Dainton’s heart for the people I will serve. The biggest impact this internship had on my spiritual life was connected to my involvement in the church’s Easter drama, His Final Week…Portraying one of the first people to hear that Jesus is alive was one of the best experiences of my life. That is something that I want to spend the rest of my declaring to those that need to hear it. The impact of playing a part in this play is something that I hope to remember as I strive to serve Him with the talents He has given me for the rest of my life. [If you want to read more about my experience during His Final Week, click here] To give you a sense of the good, the bad, and the funny, this a selection and revision of a list I made for fun called “Things I Did Not Expect To Learn On My Internship” (This is 30 of the 48 I had originally)
13. It is entirely possible to hold a production together with primarily the following materials: hot glue, foam board, tape (of many varieties), paint, and pipe and drape 14. You can use shower curtains as light gels for florescent lights (My mind was blown) 15. If you make yourself cry for theatrical purposes, you shouldn't cry so hard that you start hyperventilating, which I came close to doing. Don’t forget to breathe!
21. When singing on worship team, don’t forget to turn on your microphone! 22. You know that people love you when you tell them your favorite flavor of ice cream (Peanut Butter and Chip from UDF) and they drop everything to go get it for you. This happened more than once! 23. I'm just as fun and crazy as the kids in the youth group. I guess that's why we get along so well. 24. Having your cousin on the same church staff is awesome. It was such a blessing to have Aaron in the office across from me. 25. On the other hand, you realize how weird you are when the first guy to ride alone with you in your car is your cousin… 26. “You’re never as good as they say you are, and you’re never as bad as they say you are. You’re usually somewhere in between.” – Dave Hargrave
27. Trial by fire is a good learning experience, even though it may be uncomfortable. I learned more through some of the unplanned parts of my internship then I did from planned parts. 28. Never take the staff of your church for granted. They are servants to the Lord and to you, and they deserve a ton more recognition than they get. 29. Community in Christ, especially in the context of a church body, should never be taken for granted. I was so warmed welcomed into the church and felt very much at home with them. If you find yourself in a church like that, consider it a blessing. 30. Do your best to be prepared for any situation that comes your way. That is when you are open for the Lord to use you, no matter where you are in your life. _______________________________________________________________________________________________ Conclusion Prior to this internship, I had not had the chance to really experience the finer details of music ministry. Most of my experience up to that point had been singing on worship team and some worship planning. But after spending 3 ½ months going into the church office 4 to 5 days a week and often not returning home on those days until late at night, I became more assured of a fact I already knew: pastors, ministers, and those who are on staff at a church do so much more than their congregation will ever see. They don’t just work on Sunday mornings, and they often don’t work a 9 to 5 kind of job. Being in ministry is a devotion, a calling, and a lifestyle that demands more than many people outside of ministry can really understand. Even their volunteers only get a taste of the demands and devotion required to faithfully fulfill this calling. Being a pastor’s kid, I knew this truth, but I finally had the chance to experience it while I was in Fairfield, and that is something I could never experience in the classroom. This is just a glimpse of all the things I learned in my time at the Fairfield Church of Christ. I am still grateful for all the things I learned and all the experiences I had in Fairfield. It was by far the best experience of my education. As I reflect on what I learned, my heart overflows with gratitude toward all the people that made my experience possible. I am still ever so thankful for the Fairfield Church of Christ, my mentor Mike, my cousin Aaron, the other staff members at FCC, the members of the worship team and praise choir, the leadership team for His Final Week, my host family, and the countless other people that befriended me, made me feel at home, and gave me opportunities to serve. I still miss them and thank the Lord from them often. I am also reminded about what ministry is really all about. It’s not just about serving with our talents when were interested. It’s about contributing to the needs of the church so the body of Christ may be strengthened. Every person is a piece of the puzzle of that ministry, and each ministry is a piece of the puzzle of the church as a whole. I hope some of these memoirs from my internship have helped you see this truth and that you will find ways to strengthen the body of Christ by contributing to the needs of ministries in your own church. I also hope this will help you respect the work of whoever ministers to your own church, because their work extends far beyond Sunday mornings.
Jesus Had to Give Up His Control
Jesus Actually Died I have always known that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I could have told you this from a very young age. I had seen many cinematic and dramatic portrayals of the crucifixion, but it never really sunk in. It wasn't until I was cast in this drama that I was faced with the reality of what my Savior endured for me on the cross.
His Final Week Wasn't Really His Final Week
Because He knew that the testimony of those would bear witness to His resurrection would be His most powerful asset in building His church, and it would debunk the rumors that were spreading around about what really happened to Him. His appearance is the only explanation for what could have made His disciples change from men who were cowering in fear behind locked doors to courageous men willing to give up their lives to declare their message of truth and hope the world. This truth was so powerful to me, that this year for Easter, I wrote a drama that specifically focused on Jesus’ resurrection appearances for my home church called “The Door.” I think it’s important for us to remember how incredible it is that these men became emboldened by Jesus' resurrection to declare to the world that Jesus is alive. It’s still true today. Without them, we would not know the truth either. ConclusionHis Final Week was such an incredible part of my internship experience, and I am still so grateful to have had the chance to be a part of it. I hope I never forget that the hope we have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ does not end on Easter Sunday, and I hope you won't forget either. It continues through every day of our lives. It compels us to continue to declare to the world that Jesus is alive.
[If you want to read more about my internship experience, click here] It’s hard to believe that it has been two years since I had the chance to visit New York City. It was the experience of a lifetime. Aside from all the fun I had as a tourist, I learned so many incredible things, because I went for a seminar class called “Exegeting the City.” For those of you that many not know the word exegete, I will try to simply the definition as much as possible: to find the original meaning or intended purpose. For Scripture or even other literature, we find what the author meant to say to the original audience. In this class, we were trained to find and understand the “cultural texts” that gave us insight into urban life and trends. If that explanation confused you, I hope you will understand by the end of this post. This class was structured differently from any other class I had while I was in school. It was much more experiential that most other classes have the opportunity to be. Some of these experiences were organized activities we did together as a group. Others, we had on our free time in the evenings. I hope that by sharing about my experiences, you will see the difference of the culture of city life, and hopefully come to better understand the major cities in our world that so desperately needs Jesus. There were three main experiences that stood out from the rest, and gave a new way to relate to different types of people, especially the people of the city. Theology of Traveling Culture – Airports and Subways
But it was exceptionally weird when we got to the subway, and we were trying to swipe our Metro Cards properly and get through the turn stiles with all of our luggage. And even when we finally got out into the city, it was weird to drag my suitcase behind me for several blocks. But the locals, both in the subway and on the street, didn’t give our suitcase caravan a second thought. Throughout the rest of my time there, I encountered many people on the subway and in the street alike hauling their luggage all over town. It was just a natural part of life in this city.
Theology of Fashion – Berdorf Goodman’sThis part of our class was one of our first activities we did together on our first full day of class. Together we traveled to Berdorf Goodman’s, a VERY high end department store. The men went into the men’s store on one side of the street, and we went to the women’s store on the other side of the street. We were given instructions to go to the formal wear department and try on the expensive evening gowns they had there. The men were told to do the same with the suits and tuxes. Needless to say, we were all a little hesitant! We all had fears of getting in trouble because we were not rich. For a while, we (the girls in my class) were all afraid to ask to try the dresses on, but I knew I would have to ask sooner or later, so I asked first (which if you know me, is totally not me! lol). After I asked, the other girls found the courage to do the same. I definitely felt out of my element in that fancy dressing room, but I was so glad that I found the courage to try it on! Four grand for a dress? That’s worth more than my car! I though my dress was priced high, but I was floored when the next day, one of the other girls told us that she found a dress that was the most expensive clothing item that has even been tried on for this assignment. And the totally was: Almost 27 grand!!! That's so crazy to think someone would pay that for a dress! But doing this was a powerful reminder for all of us that the wealthy are people just like us. There is definitely a significant cultural gap, one that our professor attempted to help us bridge with this assignment, but they are still just people. Unfortunately, bridging this gap is easier said than done. Even Jesus acknowledged the difficulties of a rich man coming to salvation. Although they are harder to reach, they need Jesus just as much as anyone else. I will never forget what it was like to wear that dress, and the powerful reminder that we are all still just people. Theology of Worship – Different Worship ServicesThe other experience our class had together that stood out from the rest was experiencing worship at two churches of contacting styles and demographics. In recent years, I have found great value in being able to observe the way other churches worship. It was even more valuable to see their services on this trip, because we happened to be in New York on Easter Sunday (March 30, 2013). Churches in the city are drastically different than many of us in rural settings are familiar with, and getting to witness this difference was incredible.
Other Experiences
- Aside from all the fun, we also had a great class with challenging lectures. We received great hospitality from the Metropolitan New York Baptist Association (MNYBA for short), the hostel where we were housed. We also were welcomed warmly by the Orchard Group, a church planting organization that facilities the class. We had our class lectures in a meeting room in their office space. - One of the awesome parts about the class was that not only was there seven other students from Ozark Christian College, but there were also eight others from Lincoln Christian University! It was great to not only experience the city together, but also make new friends along the way. A City in Need of JesusNew York City is a culture in and of itself. It is so different than what I am used to in the Midwest. Before my trip, I stereotyped New York as a city of violence, crime, and sin. I was reminded that there are some Christians in New York City. They are a minority, but there are there. And while there is a high crime rate in the city, not everyone is a criminal. And although it is true that certain types of sin are prevalent in urban settings, they were still just broken people in need of a Savior. It made me so grateful to know that organization like the Orchard Group are investing their efforts into reaching these people through church planting. My biggest takeaway from this trip is that I learned how to find “cultural texts” that taught me how to better relate to those who live in urban settings. Our professor urged us to learn how to have a situational awareness and cultural agility in all areas of our lives, and that is something for which we all should be striving. I hope that these memoirs from my trip will encourage you to pursue the same. (Enjoy a few more pictures from my time in New York!) February 6, 2013This day is one that is etched deep into my memory. At first, it seemed like a normal day. I was in one of my last semesters at Ozark Christian College. Some of our classes that day had been replaced by some missions lectures for our International Focus Week, but other than that, it was same as most others Wednesdays I had in school. I went to church that evening to help with my brother-in-law’s youth group, as I normally did on Wednesdays. After youth group and a grocery trip to Wal-mart, I went back to campus. When I got back, I walked into my dorm lobby, and I sensed something was wrong. There was a group of girls with sad looks on their faces, but I didn't know why. I went up to my floor, and saw another group of girls with sad looks, and even tears, on their faces. I knew something was very wrong, but I wanted to take care of my frozen groceries before I investigated. As I was doing this, someone knocked on my door. It was my next door neighbor and another friend. “Bethel, did you hear what happened?” “No. I didn't have a chance to ask yet. What happened?” “Brandon Stuckey was killed in a car accident.” I gasped. They also told me a group was going to pray in the lobby in a few minutes and invited me to join. I thanked them for telling me, and then proceeded to finished with my groceries. As soon as I was done, I remember leaning on the back of my desk chair as the reality of what I had just been told to me was hitting me like a ton of bricks. I couldn't believe that my friend Brandon was gone. Because of this moment and others to follow, that was one of the most unforgettable and tragic days of my college career, and my young adult life. Brandon’s death shocked and devastated the whole OCC family, but for those of us who were close to him, the grief we felt that night was unimaginable. I never would have imagined that the friend that sat next to me in class one day would be gone the next. However, some of the memories of that time, as painful as they were, were also some of the most precious memories I have from my entire college experience. On the second anniversary of the day Brandon went home to be with the Lord, I am compelled to share the lessons that I learned through losing a friend. 1) Believe in the Hope of HeavenI cannot imagine what it would have been like to have faced Brandon's death without the hope of heaven in my heart. It simply would have hurt too much. Especially when someone young dies, it’s harder to accept their absence if you think that this life is all that there is. So many try to blame God when this kind of tragedy happens to us, either getting mad because He didn’t stop it, or claiming that the tragedy is evidence that He doesn’t exist. Neither one helps the healing process at all. What happened to Brandon was tragic. There was no way around this fact. He was only 22 years old. He had so many God-given dreams that were never fulfilled in this life. I know he wanted to get married and raise a family. I know he wanted to preach the gospel to those than needed to hear it. He even had plans to spend the summer of 2013 in Mongolia. But there is so much more to this tragedy than the fact that he is no longer with us or all the things that Brandon never had the chance to do. My greatest comfort in process of grieving is knowing that Brandon is no longer burdened by the troubles of this life. He is now whole and complete in the presence of the Savior that died to redeem him. This redemption, the heart of the gospel, was something that Brandon spent the short years of his life declaring. Among all the hopes he had in this life, I know that he, like all of us who have our hope in Christ, longed for the day when we will see our Savior face-to-face, and now he has. It makes me happy for him, and in fact makes me long for the hope of heaven even more. The redemption and the wholeness he now has in the presence of our Savior is something that I did my best to remember, even in the midst of grief. When I attended Brandon’s funeral, I wore a black dress, but I also wore red shoes and a red headband, as a reminder of the blood that had redeemed my friend. 2) Cherish CommunitySurrounding yourself with community is crucial during times of extreme grief. It’s not just a good idea; it is essential to the grieving process. These type of situations are part of God’s design for community. Mourning with those who mourn is one of many elements listed in Romans 12 as part of our love for each other being sincere or genuine (Rom 12:15b). We are called to do more than comfort each other if one of us is hurting: we are called to cry with them and share the burden of their grief. I never understood this better than I did in the days following Brandon’s death, because of the way this was demonstrated toward me. I will never forget: - How many of us gathered outside of Brandon’s dorm that night while we prayed, sang songs about hope and heaven, and comforted each other in our tears. - How one of my RA’s (resident assistants) stayed by my side for hours that night. Don't know what I would have done without Marley that night. - How multiple friends on my dorm floor offered to let me stay with them that night because of my roommate’s absence. I declined, but I was touched to know so many of my friends cared. - How both of my RA’s sandwich-hugged me at 2:30 in the morning when I was so overwhelmed by grief and confusion, I began to bawl. I pretty much collapsed into Dani's arms and Marley held me from the other side while I cried for another 10 minutes or so. I don't think I will ever forget that bittersweet memory. - How many people offered to let me sit with them in the class the next day where I used to sit next to Brandon. I declined because I wanted to sit where Brandon invited me to sit, but I was grateful to know they were all mindful of how hard that day would be for me. - How two girls I’d never met (at separate times) saw me crying in the bathroom during all campus devotions the next night, and each one stopped everything to see if I was OK and prayed with me - How many hugs I got during that time, especially the night he died and at his funeral. Some were from people I was not close to, but knew I need them - How many people asked me if I was OK during that time, even people I didn't know I had never before experienced community in such a powerful way. Our campus as whole remained close throughout the rest of that semester in a way I had not seen before or since, because of the tragedy we endured together. As one of the RA’s from Brandon’s dorm posted that night on Facebook: I so strongly agree. It was even further defined when, about a year later, I discovered that another Bible college had heard about what happened to Brandon (the brother of Brandon's roommate attended Johnson University). Many of their students were grieving for us and with us. That's amazing. 3) Out of the Ashes, Beauty Will RiseIn the initial moments of grief, it is not easy to see God’s plan, or what the future will hold beyond those moments. But one of the sources of comfort I found during this time was Steven Curtis Chapman’s album Beauty Will Rise. This is the album he wrote about the tragedy of losing his daughter. There are so many wonderful songs that helped me through this time, but two parts of the title song stand out to me: Out of these ashes, beauty will rise We will dance among the ruins We will see it with our own eyes Out of darkness, new light will shine For we know the joy that’s coming in the morning And It will take our breath away to see the beauty that He’s made out of ashes These thoughts gave me a sense of hope in this situation that I had never expected. I began to realize that God can take all of our pain, our sufferings, and even our sin, and make it into a beautiful mosaic for His glory. And when we finally get to see this masterpiece for ourselves, it will take our breath away by its beauty and its creativity. No matter how difficult it is to go through at the moment, God will use it and not let it be in vain. It is all part of God’s plan to reconcile our broken world. Now that’s powerful. God did bring beauty out of the grief of losing Brandon. The fact that I am writing about this now proves this to be true. Those of us that knew him looked at Brandon’s short life and were able to see a good man with a heart for the gospel and a heart for people, and we were inspired to be the same. We learned the power of Christian community in the days surrounding his death. We learned to be vulnerable with each other. We learned to grieve with hope. Gone but Not ForgottenAlthough I wasn’t “super close” to Brandon, I was close enough that his death did make an impact on my life. I am forever grateful that God brought Brandon into my life, because I learned so much more from him than I could have ever imagined. This was reflected in the last conversation we had, the day before he died. We were in class together, the class where we sat next to each other. Before class started, we were talking about life, some of our ministry and mission aspirations, and eventually the conversation landed on relationships. I found myself telling him that I had not been in a relationship before. Just as our professor was starting class, he leaned towards me and whispered: “Don’t worry. You’ll find someone someday.” I cherish these words for two reasons. It’s not because this is a guarantee that I will find a husband or a promise of a fairy tale ending. It’s because, first of all, his last words to me were so uplifting and hopeful. And second, because it reminds me that God has a greater purpose for my life that I have for myself, and if I have my assurance in that purpose, I don’t have to worry. Brandon had assurance in the Lord's plan for his life, and because of that, I know he is now in the presence of His Savior. I hope that if Brandon’s prediction is true, then I will marry a man that has his assurance in God’s plan too, just like Brandon.
Brandon is still missed by those of us who called him our friend, but his memory and his legacy live on. Thanks to Brandon, I now know what it means to grieve with hope. I hope this post will help others learn how to do the same. |
Lion's Eyes Reviews is a blog dedicated to reviews of Christian books, most of which are non-fiction, but may also occasionally review movies and musicals. It will also feature the work Bethel does to help launch and promote the works of Christian authors.
The name is derived from one of Bethel's favorite books, Through the Eyes of a Lion by Levi Lusko. Through these reviews, Bethel hope to give Christians the tools they need to look at the world "through the eyes of a lion" so they can find the courage to "run toward the roar". To find the detailed archives of these reviews, you can check them out here: Books In Review Movies in Review Broadway In Review Quick Reviews To understand the rating used in these reviews, click here Categories
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Bethel Grove is a Christian young woman who loves to read and write, eat Reese's Peanut Butter Cup Blizzards, and disciple teen girls as a youth leader. What started as a hobby of writing book reviews and doing deep biblical studies eventually led her down the path of self-publishing and helping other Christian authors launch their books. She hopes to someday be a vocational youth minister and well-known author.
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