Recently I received an email from an old friend, whom I used to labor with at Miami University of Ohio. We were both on staff with Campus Crusade for Christ; he with the campus ministry and I with Athletes in Action. The flood of memories and emotions, which I encountered when reading his email, to be honest, took me completely by surprise. In fact, his email wasn't packed with an overt amount of emotion; it simply stated, 'Man, have we all come a long way from the good ole days at Miami, huh?' As you can see, there is nothing here to 'choke one up'. Even so, his use of the phrase 'good ole days at Miami' hit an emotional nerve. A well-spring of great memories, both pleasant and painful, began to flood my mind; memories of how God had redemptively intervened in so many lives, including mine and my family's.
The reason this response was such a shock was because my outlook on our time there had been jaded for nearly 11-years by some of my failures, misperceptions, and a lack of historical distance to appreciate what God had and is still doing in 'this little town surrounded by corn'. In the blink of an eye, in the middle of a Panera Bread restaurant in Hamden, CT., God the Father helped me to see beyond my 'spiritual cataracts' of the past to see the blessing of the various ministries at Miami University, both in the past and in the present, This restored vision has allowed me to look beyond my own experiences and interpretations to see the eternal impact the gospel ministries have made upon millions-upon-millions of people around the globe.
It goes without saying, that time and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit are the key to helping us see ourselves, our environments, and our experiences in a more truthful and biblical light. My hope in the next several months is to tabulate and meditate with you what God has done and continues to do at Miami, so that I and hopefully you too, will not miss and fail to appreciate God's tremendous grace unleashed 'on a little town in the corn.'
God bless you and Go Redskins!!! (I am still not politically correct...somethings die hard...hope that never da
The reason this response was such a shock was because my outlook on our time there had been jaded for nearly 11-years by some of my failures, misperceptions, and a lack of historical distance to appreciate what God had and is still doing in 'this little town surrounded by corn'. In the blink of an eye, in the middle of a Panera Bread restaurant in Hamden, CT., God the Father helped me to see beyond my 'spiritual cataracts' of the past to see the blessing of the various ministries at Miami University, both in the past and in the present, This restored vision has allowed me to look beyond my own experiences and interpretations to see the eternal impact the gospel ministries have made upon millions-upon-millions of people around the globe.
It goes without saying, that time and the sanctification of the Holy Spirit are the key to helping us see ourselves, our environments, and our experiences in a more truthful and biblical light. My hope in the next several months is to tabulate and meditate with you what God has done and continues to do at Miami, so that I and hopefully you too, will not miss and fail to appreciate God's tremendous grace unleashed 'on a little town in the corn.'
God bless you and Go Redskins!!! (I am still not politically correct...somethings die hard...hope that never da