Come be the fire inside of me / Come be the flame upon my heart.
(“You Won’t Relent” by Jesus Culture).
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I used to worry that by choosing to go to a Christian college, I would be setting up a safety net for my faith.
But oh, how wrong I️ was.
At Lee University, my faith isn’t safe. It is going to consistently be tested and watered and prepared for growth. I️ know this much from spending only two days on campus.
This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend Lee Day.
For those of who aren’t as familiar with Lee University, Lee Day is a massive two-day event the college throws for alumni, students, and prospective students. On Friday and Saturday, I had the incredible chance to meet my sweet roommate and several other marvelous friends & classmates I’ve been chatting with for the past few months (thanks, Facebook!!). We toured my future dorm (Sharp-Davis for the win!), dodged rain puddles (the weather wasn’t so kind), had my student ID made (my picture is FOR SURE better than my drivers’ license, if anyone cares), and I met up with new classmates at a block party and Passion concert on campus.
In a nutshell, Lee Day is basically one big party, but the Christian kind.
(Which is obviously the best kind of party).
Something you might not know about me is how much of a worrier I am. I am an anxious, caffeine-addicted eighteen-year-old who must constantly turn her fears over to God (who’s with me??). Listening to God’s voice is easy when you know what He’s saying. However, if you’re like me and deconstruct every possible scenario in your head until you have no idea what God is trying to tell you, making decisions can be a great mountain to climb.
Needless to say, six months ago, I had no idea how I was going to interpret where God was directing my steps for college.
Six months ago, I was absolutely certain I‘d be packing up my life and moving eight hours away to Virginia Beach to study for the next four years.
Six months later, I️ stand in absolute awe on the campus of the most beautiful college in the world, located in Cleveland, Tennessee and only an hour and a half away from home.
Now that my indecisive heart decided on a college, one of the questions I get asked all the time is: “What brought you to Lee?”
I never exactly know what to say to that question. There’s just a mess of emotion filling the “Lee” folder in my head, and I don’t know how to express it in actual words.
My Lee story is personal. It’s not conventional, but nobody’s is. No matter what circumstances brought you to Lee, just know that they are extraordinary because God orchestrated every single one of your steps to lead you to Lee. He set the Lee eternal flame upon your heart.
Never in my wildest dreams would I have pictured myself at Lee University. I grew up in church, a Christian home, and a Christian school, and I always thought I’d end up in New York or Nashville or some other big city, away from the things that “forced” me to be a Christian.
Little did I realize all along God was preparing my heart for a small town and a small college with a big, big purpose: To know Him and to make Him known.
I didn’t choose Lee out of fear for my faith or because of people I know at the college.
I chose Lee because when I stepped on campus, I immediately felt at home. I don’t know why, but God called me here, and He used the most unlikely circumstances to get my attention.
And to be honest? I am convinced there is not a more perfect college out there for me.
Only by the grace of God do I️ stand on Lee’s campus today, proudly praising His name and planning for the next four years of my life.
I can’t wait to see how He changes all my plans in my years to come at Lee.
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