A Master's Moment

So this past weekend, Dan & I drove to Santa Clarita for the memorial service of our friend Ashley's daughter, Reese.  The service was at a church right next to the college (TMC).   We attended there almost 11 years ago now!  The event was bittersweet.  It was difficult of course to hear about the loss of a loved one, difficult to see grief in it's most tangible form, but it was also so encouraging.  As I sat through the service, I glanced around at so many familiar faces, faces I hadn't seen in a long time, and I felt so completely comforted by those faces.  I can only explain this because of the common and intensely unifying bond in Christ we share. 

I understand that just because I attended a Christian college, that not all of the people I went to school with were believers, but I do believe that many of them were sincere in their faith.  I look back and I realize what a profound influence the college had on my life.  The minute I walked onto that campus I remember being struck by the difference in the people there.  So many of them that God specifically brought into my life were so grounded in their faith at such an early age.

I am grateful for the college, for the friends that I made there, because I know that when trials and tragedies strike many of them will not waver in their faith, rather they will cling to Christ and His word in their time of need.  I saw evidence of that this weekend in the lives of the Kostjuks and in so many of the other families there.  For that I am truly thankful and truly blessed.