Hello all! I'm Bethany, blogging under the category of “Missions, Service, and Leadership.” I call the quaint little city of Thomasville, Alabama, my home away from Judson. This is my junior year here, and I’m an elementary education major. I plan on revealing Christ’s love in the public classroom, being a children’s librarian, working as a zoo keeper, running an orphanage, writing children’s books, and drinking a great deal of coffee. But for now, I’m just clinging to the promise that God’s not finished with me yet. Feel free to look me up on Facebook if you have any questions about Judson!
Part of the course requirements for introductory education classes at Judson College includes completing a certain amount of field experience hours, actual time spent in the classroom. I’ve had the opportunity to observe and help with Mrs. Jones’s first grade class at Albert Turner Elementary School here in Marion twice already. I must admit, I was pretty nervous on my first day. I will probably never forget the thoughts and feelings I experienced as I waited in the front office for someone to come and show me the way to Mrs. Jones’s room.
I was not thinking about my Judson coursework. My mind was blank, and I had absolutely no recollection of anything I’d learned or discussed so far in my education classes. It felt as if I’d stepped back into those little Mary Jane shoes of a six-year-old girl on her first day in a new classroom.
“What if they don’t like me?”
“What if the teacher is mean; will she approve of me?”
“My hair is pretty messy today…what if they laugh at my hair?”
“Man…school is ridiculous anyway, why am I here?”
It was about that time when the office door flew open, and the most articulate first grader I have ever met walked in and introduced herself to me. She explained that she had come to show me the way to my new classroom, told me not to be nervous, and said that she liked my hair. She told me about Mrs. Jones as we made our way down the hall; she filled me in on what they were learning, and what activities the class was involved in at the present. By the time we stepped into Room 12, I felt like myself again…a twenty-year-old education student in a pair of those knock-off Payless heels just eager to learn how to be an effective teacher.
It turns out that the students in the class really love me. They listen when I help them with their work, and always ask a TON of questions (which I love), want to know my opinion about anything and everything, and laugh at all my silly jokes. Mrs. Jones is probably the most sincere and dedicated women I have ever met. A couple of very long conversations with her after class have really reminded me of the importance of this mission I’ve begun, and she is so encouraging!
I have no idea why I was so nervous standing in that office that day; now being in the classroom seems like the most challenging, but natural, thing in the world to me. This new mission can be pretty intimidating at times; I just hope that in the midst of tests, intense discussions in my Judson education classes, and anything else that is thrown my way, that I don’t forget why I’m a part of the field of education. I hope I never forget walking down that long hall past the library into Mrs. Jones’s room. But most importantly…I hope I never forget that, every step of the way, I was following a first grader.
A new semester in school can often be hectic and stressful at its start. But the beginning of every spring semester here brings about a week that is an experience somewhat unique to Judson College. Christian Emphasis Week is a three-day series of chapel services. Usually chapel is only held on Tuesdays, but last week we rearranged schedules to share a little extra time together to reflect upon the journey of life that we are all a part of. 2010’s Christian Emphasis Week reminded students to rest in God, allow Him to guide us, and consider what this journey is truly about. Dr. Scott Bullard, religion professor and campus minister to Judson, delivered messages each day that focused on different aspects and types of prayer. Private prayer, corporate prayer, why do we pray, how are we supposed to pray, what is the purpose of this journey, and how does prayer relate to our travels on the journey…this list includes just a few of the things discussed during the week. A song, “Come Away” was the theme and prayer of the week…
When you’re tired of trying, come away
When your light is dying, come away
Come away with me, to a place where you can see
The goodness God is giving, the grace that you are living
Come away with me and rest now, come away
I could go on and on about the things I learned, but there was really one main point that struck me and has stayed with me. Prayer is an activity. But it is often an activity of stillness. Quite a contradictory phrase, yes? Stillness can be serious challenge for me. I like to plan things, take on new projects, learn new skills, and always be up and moving. But much of the journey requires stillness, being quiet, and realizing that being busy isn’t necessarily a sign of productivity. In fact, all that business can often muddle my thoughts and cause the path I travel on this journey to become difficult to see.
When the path needs clearing come away
When a call needs hearing come away
Come away with me, to a place where you can see
The goodness God is giving, the grace that you are living
Come away with me and rest now, come away
This is really one of those things that I have to work on daily. It’s far too easy to let those ordinary days get me down, bind me up, or weaken my spirit. Now I just hope to use the things I learned about prayer and the journey during Judson’s Christian Emphasis Week and apply them to the daily walk.
Webster defines the word mission as a specific task with which a certain person or group is charged.
I’m not a religion major.
I have never traveled out of the country.
Discussions on theology and world issues usually make my palms a little sweaty and give me a headache.
I don’t plan to travel the world, going door to door with a Bible in my hand…sharing the Good News of God’s Word to anyone who will listen.
In fact, I’m usually too shy to talk to people I know unless they approach me first.
God has not called me to save the orphans in Africa, stop human trafficking in Cambodia, or go to seminary in Texas.
But I have still been given a specific task. I have still been charged with a mission.
Dr. Brooks, Judson’s associate professor of speech and journalism, delivered a message during 2010’s first chapel service to remind students to discover, reevaluate, and remember this truth. He reminded us that it is the responsibility of the church to bless the world by using our spiritual gifts for service.
So…how does that look?
Where do I go?
What do I do?
How am I to fulfill my mission?
These questions are probably on the minds of college students everywhere. I don’t know about other folks my age…but I literally used to catch myself walking across campus thinking, “what am I doing here?” Basic question, right…but you have to consider these things. I’ve finally decided on a major, I seem to have a sense of the direction God is leading me in, and I feel extremely confident in my most recent decisions. But there are still doubts, worries, wonderings, and wanderings.
After mulling these things over since Tuesday’s chapel service, it finally all came together (don’t you love it when that happens) Today in my Women in Society class, we were all asked to share our idea of the ideal woman…the sort of woman we wish to be. When I turned to the class to provide a response, the message Dr. Brooks shared immediately came back to me. My answer was something like, “ someone who is purposeful and intentional in what she does and who she is.”
Fulfilling a mission is a conscious effort.
It takes thought, planning, and hard work.
And believe me, when I looked at the syllabus for my introductory education class, that was very evident. I may not be hopping on a plane to Africa or Cambodia anytime soon, but I am going to be a teacher in a few years. How is that not a mission? For now, I’m learning how to teach, trying to be a better RA, and just doing all of those normal college kid things. But I still have a mission here at Judson, in Marion, and I want to be extremely purposeful and intentional about it all. No more wonderings and wanderings.
You wouldn’t think
that there would be any danger in going to a small private college like Judson.
It’s a safe place in a safe neighborhood surrounded by loving, Christian
people. Literally…the homes surrounding campus are those of our professors, and
there are about five churches within walking distance of the school. Strangely
enough, this is where the danger lies. We Judson girls often joke around about
being inside the“Judson
bubble.”It’s too easy to get so
caught up in this school and all of its activities that you really do forget
about the outside world sometimes. I suppose this is typical of any college
student. I’m young, I’m on my own, and at the end of the day, the only person I
really have to worry about taking care of is myself.
But that doesn’t
make it okay, and this thought is not exactly one that comforts me as I lay my
head down on a soft pillow in a warm dorm room. You can see the threat here,
yes? Fortunately, the first week of Christmas break brought about an
opportunity to escape this peril of typical college kid syndrome.
Truly, I say to you, as
you did it to one of the least of thesemy brothers,you
did it to me.
Matthew
25: 40
This verse and mission work is at the very core of Judson. The college is
even named after missionaries to Burma…the Judsons. Students travel to the ends
of our nation and even our world every year to spread the Good News, and serve
“the least of these” in every location imaginable. This Christmas break a group
of about thirty students, along with some pretty amazing adults (the parents of
Judson junior, Laura Hyer) decided to serve those right here in Marion, just as
we’re commanded. Working under a Perry County organization known as Sowing
Seeds of Hope, we were able to reach out to the people of this small Alabama
town by building homes in a fashion that is very similar to the well-known
Habitat for Humanity. All of the girls worked hard painting, putting up dry
wall, and crawling around in small spaces to insulate these homes.
While this week was a huge success and soon there will be several brand new homeowners
in Marion, the most important happenings of this mission are more underlying. I
think the work we did during this week caught the attention of the city. It’s
kind of like we were saying, “We’re here, and we care, and we’re going to do
whatever we can to help and serve you.” Seated in a county that is one of the
most impoverished in the country, Judson students have the privilege, the
responsibility, and the mission to serve this city. Throughout the week prayers
and ideas for future projects were coming from every direction, and just as the
theme for 2009’s Marion Matters…greater things are still to come.
where the danger lies. We Judson girls often joke around about
being inside the
This verse and mission work is at the very core of Judson. The college is
even named after missionaries to Burma…the 
