Chan & Mary Anne February 19, 2012

On Thursday our campus hosted our annual Ministry Forum, and this year our speaker was Francis Chan! I’ve never met the man personally, but I feel like we go way back…. IYC 2003 in Colorado, IYC 2005 in…where were we? Tennesee? I still remember some of the things he spoke on back then. Yet it is not the messenger who is important; it’s the message; I’m thankful for the way God uses Francis and the way Francis allows himself to be used.

I find him to be a very simple and inspiring speaker–he often takes Scripture and reminds us to stop and be shocked. For example, as he began his third session he took us to Matthew 28:18, the Great Commission. He began reading: “‘Then Jesus came to them and said’—now I just want to stop us right here.” (A chuckle ran through the crowd–we sure didn’t get very far into that verse!) Francis laughed with us and said, “I’m serious! Let’s not skip over this! ‘Jesus came to them and said!’ Why is this amazing? Because he was just dead!” We laughed harder now, mostly at ourselves for how often we skip over amazing things like that. Francis continued, “Jesus was dead, then came back to life and said, ‘Okay, I want everyone to get together at this spot, there’s something I want to say.’ I think that means this is going to be important.” Ah, beautiful.

I walked away from that session with a pocket full of pebbles—a few ideas and timely reminders. There is one in particular I want to focus on.

During Q&A someone asked him about ministry burnout. His response was that spiritual exhaustion is certainly possible, but what probably plagues us more frequently is boredom. Our lives become boring when we don’t live by the Spirit. When we stop waiting on God, hearing God, responding to God, life gets dull. We start trying to make things happen on our own energy and power, and end up sick and tired of the whole shebang.

Later, as I thought about this concept, I thought of this blog. I named it “The Wind Blows Wherever it Pleases: Spirit-filled Adventures” in hopes it would keep me accountable to living by the Spirit and help me recognize the stories that happen when I do. And I think lately I have grown a bit dull to the Spirit’s voice in my life.

Yesterday on my run, I decided to put myself in a place where I would be a bit more susceptible to the Spirit. I run 3-4 times a week, usually around dinner time, and always see this older woman on the track. Yesterday I jogged up to her and said hello, twice. (She is a bit hard of hearing, bless her heart). After the second time, she stopped, turned toward me and drew near, searching my face. In her lovely, aged voice she said, “Oh, yes. You seem…familiar…to me.” I smiled and said, “I’m Becca.” She spoke distinctly: “I’m Mary Anne Gaede.” What followed was a beautiful conversation.

In striking up short conversations with strangers, it always astounds me which pieces of their story they choose to disclose in the first few minutes. I quickly learned that Mary Anne is a follower of Christ (though she didn’t have to tell me that) and that she lives in a house near the track. She and her husband hit their 66th anniversary last April and then (this part I didn’t see coming) he died fourteen days later. She told me of his beautiful “home-going,” how the family had gathered around his bed singing his favorite hymns and how he left quickly, without extended suffering. She told me of her active volunteer life, how since retirement she was involved in numerous activities ranging from reading to children for hours a day to ministering to women in prison.

I was swept away by the sincerity and steadiness of her life, and I’m reminded that when God encourages me to go speak to someone, He often aims to bless me in the midst of it.

“Get rid of the old yeast that you may be a new batch without yeast–as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old yeast, the yeast of malice and wickedness, but with bread without yeast, the bread of sincerity and truth.” 1 Corinthians 5:7-8

Professional Thoughts February 16, 2012

Today is a Midwest kind of day. Walking to the office, my shoes and the hem of my pants got wet from the overnight rain puddles. I got a light spray in the face when the wind kicked droplets off of trees. Half the sky hosted the sun, bright and happy and gentle. A lingering wall of gray clouds filled the other half. Inhaling brought a gust of rain-washed oxygen into the lungs.

In my one-on-one with an RA this morning, as we sat quietly over mugs of coffee, watching the activity around us; she mused that it was a peaceful kind of day. I couldn’t help but agree.

***

Sometimes, in the midst of different university meetings, I have a moment when I remember that I am being grafted into an institution. I’m not just doing a random, fun job. I’m part of a big family, if you will, and a movement. It’s easy to focus on the relationships and conversations and tasks that make up each of my days, while forgetting that I am building on the legacy of someone else.

Today one of those moments happened in the midst of Staff Caucus. President Merrill Ewert (how’s that for a Mennonite name?) is retiring after a decade of service to FPU. This week our new presidential candidate is visiting campus. In Caucus today he allowed time for Q&A. I listened to the questions of the staff around me, some of them who had graduated from FPU before being employed here. Their words betrayed a deep, personal commitment to the values and legacy of the university. I readily affirm these things as well, but I fully recognize I am not (yet) as deeply rooted as they are.

In addition, it’s that time of year when Pam, my boss, begins asking us RDs if we intend to return next year. My answer is yes, for as far as I can foresee. Over the course of the year we’ve all shared conversations amongst ourselves about how long we think we may be here at FPU; our answers vary and conversations always end with a “We’ll see!”

Today, remembering that I’m currently a blip in the life of this institution, I wonder how deeply entrenched I will become here. Will I be here for years and come to feel like this family–this movement–is part of who I am? Or will I be a more transitional figure? God only knows, and I’m not worried about it.

I’m just wonderin’.

The San Diego Trip February 12, 2012

Last weekend the RD team, along with our boss Pam and Amberli’s husband Matt, set out on an adventure to Southern California (affectionately known as SoCal by Californians). We are steadfast supporters of our women’s basketball team, and that weekend both the men’s and women’s teams played at Point Loma Nazarene in San Diego. We had been planning this weekend road trip since November!

We met at 7am Friday morning and took our time getting out of town, since we had no agenda. On our way down, I visited Ikea for the first time! I’ve been shamed by numerous friends for never having made a trip to this famous home goods store, so this was kind of a big deal for me. The store itself is pretty cool. On one of the wall’s was painted this quote: “Sharing a small space is to show love and respect, to compromise and transform.” I thought it was utterly appropriate for Residence Life.

In Burbank we landed at the home of Aunt Katie, Matt’s aunt. They have a gorgeous, airy home overlooking the city of Burbank, and I started to get a taste for what SoCal living looks like. After dropping off our luggage we went on to explore the Hollywood area. Notable experiences include:

–Going up Mullholand Drive to see the L.A. Skyline & the Hollywood sign

–Paying 13 smackeroos for a celebrity map. We drove through several neighborhoods to see homes of icons such as Michael Jackson and yawn I don’t even remember who else. I can’t tell you much about the homes, but I can tell you that these people have nice, expensive, tall hedges.

–Dropping by UCLA’s campus. Its gorgeous. And it’s all thanks to me, because if I didn’t have a tiny tank, we never would have looked for a bathroom anyway.

–Eating Chic-fil-A for dinner on Sunset Blvd. It was Matt and Amberli’s first time there! When I put in my order they asked for my name and I told them Becca. The girl had a funny look on her face and asked me to spell it. I did. Still an odd look on her face. When they called me to give me my food, my name had become Betca. Or Betcha. I’m not even sure what happened there.

–Walking down Hollywood Blvd. It reminded me a lot of the Las Vegas strip, which made me feel familiar, happy, and a little sad too.

–Union City Walk. (Shopping district).

On Saturday we rose early and took our time heading south. We stopped at a few beach places and I SAW DOLPHINS!!!!! It was mesmerizing. I would say it was my first time, but now that I think about it I’ve probably seen them in zoos…but you know what, it was my first time. Zoo dolphins and free-ranging ocean dolphins are two entirely different matters.

Mike took us out to one of his favorite restaurants, called the Cliff. We ate on a patio overlooking the ocean. ‘Twas marvelous.

Right before we arrived at Point Loma’s campus we stopped at a rocky outcropping (that’s a word, right?) settled next to the sea. I scrambled over the rocks with childish vigor, camera in hand. At one point I wanted to cross a slimy puddle. The other side was wet, but not slimy. The other side was also closer to the edge than I was. I took the small leap and almost became one with the ocean. Apparently there exists such a thing as invisible slime. (Don’t worry, Mom, I was fine and we all had a good laugh).

I wanted Pam to take a new facebook profile picture of me before we left. As she snapped away, some surfers walked past me, and I heard her snickering. This is why:

Me, "enjoying the view."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sadly, both of our teams lost to Point Loma. But THANKFULLY my wonderful sister Bri was able to catch up with us there! It did my heart so much good to see her, and I was excited for her to finally meet my friends that I’ve told her about. During half times and such we would exit the gym to contemplate the setting sun over the ocean. I don’t know how Point Loma students get a thing done with the ocean right there.

When the games ended and Bri had gone, we hopped back in the minivan to make our way back to Burbank. En route we had frozen yogurt and decided to meet up with some of Amberli’s “adopted” family nearby. Their homestead was breathtaking and their hospitality warm.

Sunday morning we got up and went to church with Matt’s grandma Barbara, whom we had heard much about. What a hoot!

When we got back to campus Sunday afternoon, I felt very much like I had been on family vacation: we were a bit tired and grumpy, but ever so grateful for the weekend experience.