My family and I began this year with a new adventure because I became a seminary student. Soon after I began my course work, I realized that I am part of a trend. In fact, many people--women especially--according to an article in TIME magazine, are enrolling in seminary! Pursuing something they have always had a passion for but never afforded themselves the time to pursue.
My school is A.W.Tozer Theological Seminary, on the campus of Simpson University, Redding, California. For my first intensive week of class, I arrived in the dark of night in February. Cold and tired, ready to rest from an extremly long day of traveling. I had never been to northern California, so I was looking forward to experiencing the beauty I'd always heard about!
After campus security met my cab and showed me to my dorm room, I quickly asked as many questions as I could think of that would be important for me to know before class the next morning...in my tired state, only two came to mind: which way to the dining hall? And, how do I lock these doors?
The next morning, overcast, grey skies met me with drizzly rain. With my black umbrella pulled close to my head, I walked to the dining hall to eat a quick breakfast. The Tozer students can sleep in the dorms, eat in the dining room, and use the library on campus. However, because Simpson undergrad students are there, class room space during the day is limited. The Tozer students are in class rooms throughout the city of Redding and must arrange their own transportation to and from classes for intensive weeks. (Now that I have been there, I have frineds there, because the Tozer students are amazing!!!, so rides are not that difficult to find!)
One of the local students had graciously offered to help me with a ride to class each day. This young woman had said she would meet me at the cross on campus. OK. I thought, no big deal. But, in the black of night, from the back seat of a cab, I saw no cross. From under my black umbrella, in the drizzly rain, the next morning: NO Cross. Where is it? I couldn't locate it. So, I call her, and ask if she could just pick me up outside the dining room, because I had not yet located the cross she had mentioned.
At the exact time we'd agreed on, I have my umbrella pulled close to my head, she pulls up to the curb and after a quick greeting I climb into her car and strap on my seat belt. We pull away from teh curb and drive the distance of what in my town would be a 1/2 block up the street. Yes, you know where this is going. There, to my astonishment, is this HUGE white cross...the centerpiece of the entire campus. You cannot, by the way, see it from under a black umbrella, or apparently from the back seat of a cab in the black of night.
I thought when I had told this sweet girl that I couldn't find the cross that her reaction was strange. At that point, though, I didn't think too much of her reaction. However, I'm sure she's probably thinking at this point, where in the world did THIS woman come from? Hilarious, that's what it is.
For the next 2-1/2 days rain, drizzly rain. On Wednesday afternoon, there was a break in the rain, to reveal the magnificent views from the campus. It is truly breath taking! There is a view of Mt. Shasta that can only be seen on clear days...and for the most part, the days there are clear...except this week I was there! Wednesday afternoon, even that view was clear! Gorgeous!
On that Thursday, is snowed! For one fellow student from the Philippines, this was his first experience with snow. I saw him on the patio during our lunch break skype-ing with his parents, so they could enjoy the snow experience together. How fun is that?
By Friday, more drizzly rain, and over cast and limited visibility of the beauty surrounding the campus!
This is how our life goes sometimes, isn't it? The cross has been the center piece of the campus for a long time...always right there...whether I could 'see' it or not! Mt. Shasta has been standing in the same place for longer than I've been alive...and just because I couldn't 'see' it for most of my visit to the campus, didn't mean it wasn't there...I just didn't realize it was there, or that I could see it and enjoy it's beauty!
This is how we view God...if I can't 'see' His work, or His way, or His provision it does not mean He isn't right there...He doesn't move. He's the same, yesterday, today and forever...providing for me...loving me...caring for me...and by His grace forgiving me over and over again!
I have learned many things by attending the four classes I have now completed at A.W. Tozer Theological Seminary. (the more I learn, the more I realize there is to learn--perhaps that's why Paul tells us to have a 'teachable spirit!') I have many more classes to complete before I receive that masters degree! However, some of the most important lessons I have learned have been just my day to day dependence on a holy, just, loving God! God is God! Praise Him for He is worthy!
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