When God Was In College, He Was An English Major

"What knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, 

you wish the author was a terrific friend of yours

and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it.

That doesn't happen much, though."

- The Catcher in the Rye, J.D. Salinger 

     When was the last time you read a love letter? Or a poem that made you swoon over the beauty of the words? How about a children's book? Maybe even viewing a quotation on Pinterest, StumbleUpon, Instragram or Tumblr? Many of you know I love words so much. Sometimes I read certain words that make my soul and heart fill with so much emotion. I can read sometimes just a sentence and it speaks so much to me. They can make me breathless, sorrowful, loved and so much more. Words can also, when used correctly, give me the power to do the same for someone else. I can choose the most endearing words to flatter someone with true flattery, or I can express my sadness and make the reader cry with me. I could also make heads spin when I work puzzles of words around them when I feel like being cryptic. I can confuse a person, express my anger, and win any debate. When you can use words, you have so much power between your lips. I've often thought this was simply an English Major thing...but then, if it is, God must be an English major.

     Sometimes I am feeling the need for love. So, I take my bible off my book shelf and gently open it. Where I have placed rose petal after rose petal, the pages open to Song of Songs 2:16 "My lover belongs to be and I to him." I swoon for a second, and then read on. It is a love letter from God, written to me (and so many others). It is the most beautiful love letter I have ever read. I never tire of reading it. In Isaiah, only a few books away from SOS, God tells me that "though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18). Next Book, Jeremiah, He tells me,"For I know the plans I have for you" (Jeremiah 29:11). Even in Lamentations, He gives voice to the suffering, the broken-hearted. Friends, we didn't even get to Psalms, Proverbs or Hosea, yet, much less the NEW TESTAMENT. If I were to actually quote all the beautiful words the Bible has to offer me as the most beautiful piece of literature, I would essentially be quoting the entire Bible. Instead, I just whet your taste buds for the beauty that is the Bible.

      I have always thought that the Bible was God's truest, deepest, best work of Literature. However, I never really thought of the possibility of God being an English Major. No, that didn't happen til last week when I was in Theology class and we read a section from the Gospels about how Jesus essentially owned those Pharisees in a gentle debate. He not only didn't give them the chance to argue, but he stuck the truth straight to their hearts. Like I said, English Majors can really get to the hearts of people and make them feel. Jesus did that not only with the Pharisees, but with his disciples, his followers, his mother, everyone he spoke to. He was quite the orator, if I say so myself. In fact, he was so great, that someone should have written a book about him. Oh wait....

     Anyway, like a good English Major, I am always reading and increasing my personal Canon. Anyone can tell you that when I read, I read with a writing instrument. Whether it's a pen of varying colors, or pencil, or marker, or crayon, I always have it near by. There are so many words that just jab at my heart or make me feel so much emotion in my soul, that I have to highlight them or write them down somewhere. You can my favorite books from the amount of markings in them. There are plenty of folded, leafed corners and cracks in the spins. My books are well-loved. 

    Often the words I find in my books, I feel as if God, Himself were speaking them to me. Take, for instance, my favorite Children's Book, "Where You Are, My Love Will Find You," by Nancy Tillman. It is a book written from a parent to a child and yet, when I sat in Barnes and Noble reading it to my Sister, two Christmasses ago, I knew immediately why I was meant to read it: God wanted me to feel loved. I felt as if God Himself was reading the book to me. Of course, there are my other favorite books like "A Prayer for Owen Meany," "This House of Brede," "The Shack," "The Alchemist," and so many more....all of them highlighted, underlined and written in, pages leafed and spins cracked. In all of them, I found God's voice. Wow, God. Just wow.

     Suddenly, last week  it hit me. God gave us the most beautiful work of Literature in the Bible, but he also gave us countless authors and illustrators to give us countless books. And so, essentially, He gave voice to these people and what they write are the words He gave them. He is in every word that I read and it is beautiful. God is a writer and a beautiful, creative writer at that. He loves to send those words straight to our hearts. God seriously must be an English Major. What do you think?

Coffee, Monks, Books and Sashays...A Story About Grace

           Word on the homefront has been...quiet, si. But not because I have nothing to say. When do I ever have NOTHING to say? Even in my sleep, I talk (awkward). Truth is, I've been monking, reading and sashaying this past week and achieving much grace because it. How? Keep reading.
           When you work for Campus Ministry, you can almost always assume (alliteration!) that you will, in some way, be roped into everything Campus Ministry does or guilt-tripped for it afterward. And so, I was a student leader for our Annual Freshmen Retreat. Having gone on the retreat last year, I knew exactly what was supposed to happen...so I thought. After finally agreeing to leading it, my three friends and I, questioned what on earth we had gotten ourselves into. It was a hectic three days before the retreat actually took place with multiple shopping runs, binder making, speech writing and so much more. By Friday afternoon, I was just about ready to quit, I was so stressed. But then, two of my best guy friends pulled in the Coffee Shop, made me get out and get a coffee. The moment the warm, fuzzy elixir rolled into my stomach, things started looking up. PRAISE GOD. Coffee can seriously do wonders. As soon as the coffee was in my system, I was ready. I was ready of a weekend of renewal.
             What always surprises me is not how much the leaders affect the retreatants but vice versa. My small group was absolutely amazingly inspiring. These students made things so real for me. And not only that, it was amazing listening to my peers as they gave their speeches. As best friends as we are, we all hold secrets and those secrets tend to come out when you bring down those walls. Needless to say, I know my friends a lot better now. And then there's our group leader, my work study nun. The nun who became more real to me on this trip than any other. She stole our s'mores right out of our hands like our crazy aunt, she tickled our feet like our loving mother, she uplifted us like our favorite teacher and made beds with us like the perfect nun would. Can you guess which one of the leaders she made the beds with? Yep, OCD me. Being on this retreat, at the quiet abbey, waking up the steady tolling of the Lauds bells, opened my eyes more than any experience so far this year.
               Ok, so retreat was excuse number one. Now for number two. Classes started this week. Can I tell you that I'm taking SEVEN classes and FIVE of them are on Monday. And since all but two are English courses, I've had book upon book upon book piled on top of me! So far, I'm going to be reading four books a week. So...I've been reading and doing homework.
              And finally, the Sashay's. I just came from my Phys. Ed class where we learned to Cuban Cha Cha and Sashay. Truth is, I was a bit disappointed because my best friend was supposed to be my dance partner and the teacher told us, we weren't doing dance partners...but I loved it. Tons of hip moving, cha-cha-ing and sashaying.
              But how does grace play into this? After my Young Adult Literature course, the sister who teaches it (and my FAVORITE English Nun), stopped me after class. She knew that I would be going to the March for Life and since I had her Spring Semester 2011, she said, "You're doing it to me again, Becky." "Yeah, sorry, Sister." To which she replied, "But really, good for you. Good luck!" As we walked out of the classroom, she asked about how break went and surprisingly asked if things were good with my soul. It was surprising because, she's not the type to rope religion into a regular conversation NOR does she know too much about me. Yet, she read me like a book. Things every so often, do get rough. Those are the cons of the life I lead. Sometimes, we all get lonely, sad, or gain the feeling of the desert. I never once mentioned the desert storm of my soul last semester to sister or to anyone really, but she knew. She read right through me. And she left me with this: "Grace will come, Becky. That I can promise. I don't know when it will come, but it will. It will come when you least expect it and most need it."
              Later that night, I auditioned for her children's theater drama production of Charlotte's Web. As a new member of Cue and Curtain, I should have had to perform a monologue, but I didn't. She just smiled, thanked me for my note and put me on the stage. There is something about her, that as intimidating as she can be as a teacher with her grades, puts me in awe of her. It's like from afar she watches me to make sure I'm doing alright. She doesn't mention anything to me unless we are caught in a situation with the two of us, which is rare. Yet, some how, she always has that wink in her smile when she sees me. As if maybe she's an angel in disguise and is watching over me. Or maybe...maybe it's just GRACE!