In just eight short days I will be
headed back to Chicago for my junior year of college. I have to admit that I
was actually surprised when I was looking over some paperwork for school and
happened to glance at my academic year. Am I really halfway through? Some days
I feel like I’ve barely gotten settled into life at Moody Bible Institute and
couldn’t possibly have been there for two years. Yet other days I wonder what
my life was like before college: it seems like I’ve been there forever! But
even in the midst of my up-and-down, crazy, mixed-up emotions and thoughts
related to school, I am unbelievably excited for the opportunity that God has
given me to continue my education at MBI this year. Ever since my first
semester, I’ve had to periodically step back and remind myself that yes, I
really do go to school here. I’m overwhelmed by the blessing it has been, and I
could not have dreamed of anything better.
This year my roommate and I are
going to be celebrating the countless reasons we have to praise God. The theme
for our room is 10,000, representing the myriad of blessings and joys in our
lives and the innumerable reasons we have to praise our Heavenly Father! We
have several posters for our room to remind us, as well as a journal in which
to make our great big list of praises throughout the year.
As I’ve been preparing to go back
to school I’ve been reflecting on just a few of the many joys that have filled
my heart to overflowing, specifically those related to school. More than
anything else I’ve been struck by the reality that God has placed some amazing
people in my life. I’d like to share about just a few of them.
Ever since my very first piano
lesson at Moody, I knew that I had an incredible teacher. But it wasn’t until
this summer that I truly realized what a gift it has been to study the piano
with him for the past two years. I’ve always been so thankful to have a piano
teacher who prays for me, encourages me, challenges me, points me to Scripture
as my source of truth, and helps me navigate the questions of who I am and who
I’m trying to become. Not only that, but this summer I realized that he has
taught me to love the piano in a way that I never did before. As I was thinking
about my schedule and how I could squeeze in an extra hour of practice each
day, I realized that I have grown to love playing in a way that no one can
teach you. It has to be caught, and I caught it from the gentleman who loves
green, enjoys making up crazy stories, and teaches me to center my love for
music on my desire to serve God and pursue Him in all things.
Another person that comes to mind
whenever I think about what the Lord has taught me in my time at Moody is my
band director. He’s the professor that can always tell when my brain is a
million miles away and isn’t afraid to ask where I’ve gone. He’s the one I know
I can count on when I need a good dose of perspective on life, and he’s the
only person I know who can speak incredibly bluntly while maintaining a deep
sense of kindness and sensitivity. Usually in a sentence or two he can put into
perspective whatever frustration or uncertainty I’m dealing with. But he’s also
never afraid to let me think through things and figure them out for myself.
Although he’s smarter than I ever hope to be and can almost always give me a
perfectly satisfactory answer in about five seconds, he’s also willing to
reason through things with me, engage in an intellectual discussion, and help
me draw my own conclusions. He not only offers the wisdom and help from an
older adult that people my age need, but also encourages me to think carefully
and use the mind and intelligence that I’ve been given. He and his wife have
poured unbelievable amounts of love, kindness, and acceptance into my life, and
will forever be role models to me of what it looks like to live for Jesus in
real life.
And of course, somewhere along the
way I’m reminded that I probably never would have made it to Moody without the encouragement
of my senior high pastor. He was the one to tell me about MBI, convince me to
visit and apply, and talk sense into me when I doubted my decision to go there.
But far better than the wisdom he shared when I was deciding where to go to
school, he is the one who modeled to me what it means to root myself in the
truth of the gospel. In everything I’ve learned at Moody, whether through
classes, friends, church, or other circumstances, it always brings me back to
the truth of who Christ is and what He has done for me. And I realize that my
pastor was the first person to tell me that it’s the gospel that changes everything, defines who I am and what I’m
living for, and brings into perspective every other matter that I am confronted
with. It is the gospel that gives me true hope, joy, peace, security, and
identity, and anchors me in the midst of life’s changing circumstances. My
pastor is the one who taught me that everything about me and everything I
believe comes back to the simple yet profound truth that Jesus died so I wouldn’t have to. I’ll never fully understand it,
yet each day it is my joy to learn more of what that truth means, and I will
always be grateful for the pastor who models for me what it looks like to
center myself on the truth of who Christ is and what He has accomplished on my
behalf.
There are so many more people I
could mention, lives that the Lord has used to touch mine, dear friends who
daily challenge me to pursue holiness and strive to be more like Christ. My
roommate is one of these precious people, and I look forward to celebrating
with her throughout the year the countless reasons we have to praise and thank
God. His goodness amazes me each and every day and I believe I’ll continue to
see that as I take on a new school year just a few weeks from now.
This summer I’ve been playing an
arrangement of “O the Deep, Deep Love of Jesus,” and as I reflect on the great
love that I have been shown, as well as the grace and goodness that are daily
poured into my life, it is the final verse of this hymn that comes to my mind:
O
the deep, deep love of Jesus, love of every love the best,
Vast
the ocean of his blessing, sweet the haven of his rest!
O
the deep, deep love of Jesus – for my heaven of heavens is he;
This
my everlasting glory – Jesus’ mighty love for me!
Indeed, vast is the ocean of
blessing flowing from the heart of our God! He alone is worthy of glory, honor,
and praise, for all He has done and all He has promised to do!
