OK, so I've pretty much been an OBU BlogAbout drop out. I started out with good intentions...I really did...but I've only actually contributed one post this entire month. Yes, I know the requirement to post just on Tuesdays was really not asking too much, but I couldn't even manage to pull that off! I'm going to try to make up for that today by sharing how attending OBU from 1984-1988 impacted my life.
I grew up in a Christian home, had been in church all my life, was a dedicated member of my youth group in high school, but had never really stood on my own two feet as a Christian until I came to OBU. For the first time ever, it was solely up to me to decide whether I was going to get up and go to church on Sunday, who I was going to associate with, and whether or not I was even going to hold on to the faith of my youth. Yes, there were some Sundays that I chose to worship at Boxsprings Baptist, especially in those early weeks of freedom, but I quickly realized that I needed the fellowship of other believers to keep me strong.
I remember going to Richwoods Baptist Church one Sunday when Craig Price, the pastor at that time, preached on Psalm 34:10..."The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." Did you catch that? "Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing." That meant if that cute boy I met at Walt's never called me, he must not be a "good thing." Or if I couldn't get into that class I wanted next semester, it must not be a "good thing." I can't tell you how many times I applied that verse to different situations that arose in my life. It was my first real introduction to the concept of God's sovereignty.
Of course, I had no idea at that time how important the concept of God's sovereignty would become to me in the future. Twenty-four years later, when my 16-year-old daughter, who had always dreamed of going to OBU someday, was diagnosed with cancer, I was able to rest in the knowledge that nothing was outside the sovereignty of God. Not that it was easy....placing her life into God's hands was one of the hardest things I've ever done...but I was prepared to take that step, partly due to the foundation that had been built while I was a student at Ouachita.
Today, when I visit OBU's campus, I experience a real bittersweetness. I have so many wonderful memories from my time there...listed in my one and only other BlogAbout post a few weeks ago...but I feel a deep sadness that my daughter, Hannah, is not there. She would have started her sophomore year a few weeks ago, but instead she is sitting at the feet of Jesus. And I have to remind myself that as nice as OBU's new dorms are...they ain't got nothin' on Heaven!
So, happy 125th, OBU! You'll never know how God uses you to impact the lives of your students.
1 comment:
That's a pretty good tribute - seeds planted over 25 years ago still bearing fruit. But for a minute, I couldn't figure out where BoxSprings Baptist was, seriously.
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