Clinging to the Golden Cord

My name is Brooke Williams and I graduated from Anderson University in May of 2014 and am currently working towards my Master’s in Marriage and Family Therapy from IWU. Throughout my time at AU, I served as a DC for Rice Hall, South/Tara apartments, and then became the DC advisor while sweet Becca Palmer was on maternity leave. While each year had its own blessings and trials, there was a common theme among them all. Each year, I experienced some sort of darkness that often kept me in a pit (some small and some large). There were moments where I honestly didn’t know why God wanted me to serve as a leader on campus and other times where I just believed I did not have enough strength to do what He was calling me to do. The truth is that sometimes being a student leader leaves you feeling empty, inadequate, and completely worn. When the semester’s work load is getting heavy and Satan is attacking your hall or ministry or choir, you begin wondering when you will feel peace and hope again. To this, I say that God is faithful. In times where you feel the darkness looming over you, He is the light. 

Whether you are coming to the end of your first year as a student leader, or you have served for many years and are about to graduate, I hope you remember how valuable you are on campus. Do not let the darkness discourage you. Last year, as I was nearing graduation, I was faced with this same struggle. I was taking 16 credit hours, working two jobs equaling 40+ hours a week, and serving as the DC advisor. To say I felt empty and depleted would be an understatement. I wallowed in my pit of bitterness and despair until God reminded me that His light is the only thing that can give me hope. I came upon this excerpt from the Jesus Calling Devotional from January 8, which says:

            “Softly I announce my presence. Shimmering hues of radiance tap gently at your consciousness, seeking entrance. Though I have all Power in heaven and on earth, I am infinitely tender with you. The weaker you are, the more gently I approach you. Let your weakness be a door to My Presence. Whenever you are feeling inadequate, remember that I am your ever-present Help.

            Hope in Me, and you will be protected from depression and self-pity. Hope is like a golden cord connecting you to heaven. The more you cling to this cord, the more I bear the weight of your burdens; thus, you are lightened. Heaviness is not of My kingdom. Cling to hope, and My rays of Light will reach you through the darkness.”

                                                            -Jesus Calling

While I love everything about this, my favorite part is when it states that “heaviness is not of My kingdom.” The struggles you are facing and the part of you that is telling you that you cannot take another step is not of God’s kingdom. When God is at work, Satan likes to come in and distort the truth, feeding you lies. While you may not be perfect, remember that you are a vessel for Christ, spreading His Truth and encouragement to those around you. When you feel depleted, look towards Christ to fill you. Lean on the other leaders around you to help hold you up when you feel like you can’t go another step alone. Remember that you are not alone. One of the amazing things about being a student leader is creating community and fostering deep relationships with those on your staff. These are the relationships that help you see the light among the darkness and who will speak truth to you to quiet the lies. Thank you for what you do. Though you may not see the fruits of your labor, know that you truly are making a difference on campus.

Brooke, and the DC staff, 2011-2012.

Brooke Williams,

DC, 2011-2014

Calling.

Hey There! My name is Josh Smith and I am a 2014 graduate of AU. I currently serve the University as an Admissions Counselor, helping future ravens find their way here to AU. As a student, I had the amazing opportunity to serve in a lot of different capacities. I was the Hall Chaplain for one year and then an RA for two years in the Smith Hall Penthouse. 

Josh and the Smith Hall staff, 2013-2014.

I am blessed with the opportunity to share a little bit with you about what The Lord has done in my life through student leadership at AU in hopes that He would use my words to speak to you and encourage you in whatever capacity you serve.

I remember well what it’s like to return to AU after Christmas break and all of the emotions that come with that. I expect that you are feeling excited to be back, anxious to see how classes will go for the semester and happy to be back with your friends. I would hope that you are excited to be back on campus and expectant of all that God will do this semester…but I also recognize that this is one of the hardest parts of the year for leaders on campus.

It’s a strange place to be. You have just come back from a month of a time that we call (comically in my opinion), Christmas “break.” A time full of family, food, long car rides, trips to Grandma’s house, adventures to new places with Tri-S, and countless times of having to answer the “Hey! How are you?” and “How is school going?” questions from people who regardless of what you tell them will inevitably nod their heads and instinctively say “That’s awesome.”

Some “break.”

How are you supposed to lead the people around you on your floor, in your ministry, on this campus…when you feel like you have nothing left to give?!?

So often, breaks seem to take more out of you than they give. I struggled with this idea every year of my time as a student leader on campus. I was so expectant and excited to see God move but sometimes felt like I had less to give the guys on my floor than I did before Christmas break.

We always talk about “burn-out” happening at the end of the semester. You know, the feeling that you get when you are barely staying afloat with all that is going on in your own life, let alone what is going on in the lives of people that you serve. But, what The Lord taught me then (and still is teaching me even now), is that he doesn’t ask us to be “perfect leaders full of joy and energy” when he calls… but that we recognize that He has called each of us for a time such as this. 

He has taught me a lot recently about what HE expects of us when He calls…

                                             He expects that we be real and authentic.      

          

It does no good to us OR the people that we lead for us to allow ourselves to slip into a sense of pseudo-authenticity and to “fake it until we make it.” One of the hardest things for us as leaders to do, is to admit to ourselves and those that we lead that we are tired, worn out and empty. But not until we can admit this, do we really understand that it is God that ultimately does the work…not us. 

He expects that we press into our calling. 

When we recognize and accept the person that God is calling us to be, we can truly make a difference in the lives of the people around us. He has created each and every one of us with different gifts and abilities. In each of us, we find countless aspects of God himself. However, when we refuse to live in the calling that God has for us, we not only rob ourselves of getting to see Him work in our lives…but we rob those around us of an opportunity to find their own calling.

But most importantly…

He expects us to answer. 

The Bible is full of people who when God called them, didn’t believe that they were capable of answering the call that He placed on their lives. Before Paul was one of the most influential Christians of all time, he was Saul…a man who was personally responsible for the persecution and execution of A TON of people. Before Rahab found the Lord and was part of the bloodline of Jesus himself, she was a prostitute, the lowest of the low. We serve a God who sees past our current circumstances and the things of our past. We serve a God who knows our potential and who simply asks that we answer, and follow Him. 

Josh and his beautiful wife, Shoshannah.

Josh Smith

Smith Hall RA, 2012-2014

Hall Chaplain, 2011-2012