A Beacon of Light

As Christians, often times, we get so caught up in the hustle and bustle of the day that we lose focus on the fact that we are handling God’s most precious gift – the human life.  We could learn a thing or two from Moses and how he treated the people of God.  We must be careful to treat each other as we should and not as we feel.  This truth became apparent several months ago when we encountered an emergency with one of our students.

Call 911!  Call his wife! Meet at the Emergency Room!  Hold the baby! It’s after-hours… but he’s our student!  In a time when he was most vulnerable, everyone raced to his rescue.  The student was completely baffled by the care and concern of everyone.  You see, his prior disposition had caused everyone to deal guardedly with him.

The next day, to our surprise, the student brought lunch and a thank you card for the staff to express his gratitude.  We were flabbergasted!  It wasn’t until we took the time to get to know the student that we begin to understand him. We had always reacted to situations but never really understood this student.  After the incident, he explained to us that he had suffered a traumatic head injury early on in life which severely affected how he dealt with his emotions. Like many adult learners, this student was bearing the burden of “life”.  He attended graduate classes, carried the weight of taking care of a wife and new  born baby while at the same time worked day in and day out to manage his own business.  He was overwhelmed!  But how would we know, if we don’t ask?  We’ve heard the old saying…you can’t judge a book by its cover…but many times we do.  It was unfortunate that this incident happened.  However, it brought about a realization that “people (students) don’t care how much we know until they know how much we care”.  We must be genuinely concern about the wellbeing of others.

This student has become one of our greatest proponents.  He has referred several students to Belhaven and now when we see him, he is wearing a smile.  The care and concerned experienced on that day left a lasting-positive impression on this student.  We have been given a special charge in Christian Higher Education…to be that beacon of light as we point individuals in the right direction.  Students should feel our prayers and support constantly as they maneuver their way through life.