I start writing all of
the time and then decide it’s probably not worth posting, or it might offend
someone, or it’s not finished enough, so I never post it. But, this time, I’m
not going to worry about it. I just want to share some of my recent thoughts
with you. I’ve been thinking a lot about Oxford lately, ever since school
started really. I cannot express to you how much I miss it. LCSC just isn’t the
same. I just about go stir crazy sitting in a classroom all day. I just want to
say “won’t somebody just assign me a 2,000 word essay and let me go do
research!” Ha, never thought I’d think that one.
So, sometimes I’m just
thick headed. What I’m about to tell you, may not make a lot of sense. I
promise, it makes more sense in my head. ;) I learned so much at Oxford. But I
came home and, while I had a hard time adjusting back to life in the U.S., I
also felt like kind of just relapsed, and didn’t really apply much of what I’d
learned. I’ve kept wondering all summer what the purpose was, of my going to
Summit Oxford. I knew that it was a wonderful opportunity. I knew that I
learned so much, including new ways of learning. But there was something that I
couldn’t put my finger on. I felt like I should be using what I learned more
than I have been. I overall just felt this sense of discontentment, because I
couldn’t figure out what I was missing.
Yesterday I read a post
from a dear friend reminiscing about Oxford. That’s when it finally hit me. I
realized that the very thing that impacted me the most was the same thing I was
struggling to define. Because that which impacted me the most wasn’t the
country, wasn’t the education, wasn’t the worldview studies, although those
things all played a very meaningful role in my time there. That which impacted
me the most and will forever affect me, is the incredible group of people that
I got to know while I was there.
I came to Summit Oxford
surprised by the diversity of the people. The group wasn’t at all what I was
expecting and at first it was a bit frustrating to me, that we all had such
differing views, backgrounds, etc. It meant there was more disagreement and
drama. But I soon came to realize that this was not only helping shape our
character, but was forcing us to look past ourselves and our backgrounds. We
became friends. We became family. What better backdrop for these relationships
to be formed than the grand old city of Oxford?
I didn’t always agree
with these people. But, I learned more from them in four months than I’ve
learned in many years. They taught me how to love: how to love people, how to
love that which is beautiful and true. They taught me how to trust people
again, realizing that we’re all human and will fail each other eventually. They
taught me to embrace what is good and just. They taught me that despite our
differences, we all were ultimately striving for the same thing, and loved the
same Savior. They taught me that people should be given a priority in our busy
lives. They taught me that no matter how hard I think I fail, there is always
somebody there for me. They taught me how to show compassion. They taught me what
the Body of Christ looks like, and that is something I will never forget.
I may not remember all of the information, all
of the knowledge, and all of the tools to become a culture changer. But that’s
okay, because I encountered something much more lasting. Relationships are
something that will forever be in my life. God, His word, and people are the
only things that will matter in eternity. I’m so thankful that God used this
spring to teach me so many of these important lessons.
So now that I look at
Oxford like that, I realize that it was worth every minute.
