There is nothing like attending one’s 40th
anniversary of graduating from college to put some things in perspective! On Friday and Saturday I enjoyed gathering
with classmates at Oklahoma Baptist University to celebrate the class of 1972
and the 75th anniversary of the Bison Glee Club. We wore name tags with our senior pictures on
them--were we ever really that young?
How good to
hear stories of vocation, families, and distinctive service—from the lives
which were nurtured in the red clay of Shawnee, Oklahoma. Former professors (those still among us)
celebrated our accomplishments and were rightly proud, for they had sowed their
lives into ours. Others tried to
disguise their astonishment at how well some of us have turned out!
As I
wandered around the campus, the lines from the Psalmist echoed in my mind: “The
boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; I have a goodly heritage”
(Psalm 16:6). I stopped to give thanks
in the many places where God had continued to beckon me to ministry—the chapel,
a prayer room in Kerr Dorm, the psych lab, and the rehearsal room.
My parents
could hardly afford to send me to a private college, and when I lost my
academic scholarship (too much mischief; too little study), I was not sure I
could stay. A scholarship fund in my
home church assisted a bit, and I was able to complete my work there. Obviously, this is one of the reasons I
believe so strongly in student scholarships today.
The
Psalmist goes on to write:
You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy; in
your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
God showed
me the path of life through the witness of others, both professors and fellow
students. Their testimony to God’s work
in their lives helped me discern my own calling, awakening my vision to look
toward new horizons of possibility. At
that time I could not see beyond some of the strictures of my conservative
Southern Baptist identity; however, the Spirit was sowing seeds of imagination
that would only later come to fruition.
Above all,
I departed the weekend with profound gratitude for God’s use of place and
people as instruments of grace. From
Warren M. Angell (of blessed memory), Dean of Fine Arts and conductor of the
Bison Glee Club, I learned about excellence as a way of seeking God. He taught us that beautiful music offered to
God in worship is holy. He modeled the
joy of discipline and the goodness of enduring friendships. For that and more, I give thanks.
Molly T.
Marshall
To learn more about Central as a formative, creative, and
progressive seminary, visit our website at www.cbts.edu
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