After coming back from a restful week of catching up with family, visiting old friends, and finishing overdue homework on Spring Break, the mood of the building begins to move to Spring fever, especially after seeing all the wildflowers on the drive up to Hume. The sun started shining again, eating on picnic blankets outside returned, and official Turkey prep began after our New Testament class this week on the Holy Spirit. I even got sunburnt for the first time in six months!
Our speaker this week, Daryl Spradley, was a lifeline this week. He talked about the way we walked with God in the garden and how that walk is now tainted by the fall, pushing us into guilt and shame. He led us through extended moments of silence, prompting us to seek the God who loves and forgives, and taught that the Christian walk is not a formula. The way of the Christian is a relationship, a cross, a treasure, and a way of grace. His speaking style poignantly touched my heart as he urged us to be honest and vulnerable with ourselves, God, and others. After all, we can’t know God if we don’t know ourselves, and we can’t know ourselves if we don’t know God. Daryl shared his story of suffering for ten years, out of work and in pain, with a crippling stomach issue. Through the suffering, he was able to cry out to God in anger and despair and find the man of sorrows walking alongside him in the downward call of the Christian life. His faith radiated maturity and compassion to every stage of life. His wife Becky also showed the love of Christ so clearly through her love for nature, being constant, and loving community above herself. They were a huge blessing.
Today, the girls surprised the guys with a made to order omelet bar and cinnamon rolls for a thank you for the Valentine’s Day Breakfast in February they made us. We woke up early, put on dresses, and stormed the kitchen, accidentally smoking up the room and making a fluke batch of cream cheese frosting with flour instead of confectioners sugar. We made acrostic poems for each guy, and I think it’s safe to say they enjoyed the attention.
Later today, the spring weather left us and the snow came pouring down again. Everyone is definitely ready for the sun to come back, but it’s exciting to relish the last moments of winter before we leave the program in less than two months. Pray that we have the fortitude to make the most out of the next short weeks, focusing on the good of others, our own walk with God, and the faithfulness in the mundane that will have a lasting impact on us from Joshua for the rest of our lives.
-Ruth Visser (Current Student)
