A Peek Inside the Parsonage

This week is Bible Conference at Bob Jones University, and I’m excited that we got to go spend yesterday there.  This school is not perfect, of course, but it has been greatly used to prepare young people to serve God in whatever capacity He has for them.

When I was in high school, I had the privilege of visiting BJU for their Thanksgiving festivities.  What I saw and heard in the classrooms, the chapel, and from the students, truly impacted my heart.  I loved it.  However, I had my own plans – I was going to a “Christian” nursing school near home.  I’d had that all in place for years!  It was a great plan, too, or so I thought!

After visiting BJU, I came home and made my official first visit to the nursing school where I’d hoped to attend.  I stayed on campus for a weekend and was aghast at what I experienced.  Showing me the Prayer room at the end of the dormitory hall, my roommates assured me that, “No one ever uses this room!”  While I was listening to a professor give a lecture, my ears stung as he punctuated his sentences with profanity.  I’ll never forget getting into my car and crying all the way home.  If there was ever a “shut door” this was certainly one!  There was no doubt in my heart that this was not the school the Lord wanted me to attend.  Visiting this place after going to BJU, I had something to compare it to, and this was surely lacking!

I won’t go into the details, but the Lord did open up the door for me to go to Bob Jones University in His perfect timing.  It was a blessing, beyond my understanding to sit under the instruction of truly godly men and women.  It was there that the Lord continued to open my heart to all that He had for me in the future.  “In all thy ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct your steps.” Proverbs 3:6

I see now how important it was to visit the school I was hoping to attend.  If you have a young person preparing for college, take them and let them stay on campus to get a taste of what it would be like to be a student.  Pray for the Lord to direct them and open their eyes to His will.  It’s a first important step in launching out on their own. 

With love,