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My fellow alumni,
Campus is quiet as I write this. The majority of our undergraduate students are on spring break, hopefully relaxing somewhere much warmer than here. March has always been an intriguing month to me, especially in Wisconsin. Sometimes, it has been absolutely frigid. Other times, it has been more of a fool’s spring, with average temperatures peaking at 50 degrees. But most common has been the cloud cover. Over the past 5 years, we have averaged 17.2 days of cloudy, overcast weather each March. Or in other words, gray, gloomy days. But it is what it is, right? It’s just a season, and we have to get through it, because we know that there are warmer, sunnier days ahead.
Where do you go when you have gloomy times in your life? What do you do when you expect spring, but instead find clouds and rain? What about unexpected news? Do you ask God, "Why?" I know I have; a lot recently. My wife and I have been dealing with sick kids for awhile now. It seems as though we are able to skate through two or three weeks without it, but then it comes around again and we find ourselves in another sleepless night, taking turns to console our son, whose coughing fits are keeping him from sleep. How quickly time flies when you’re having fun, but then it slows to a crawl when you are in the thick of it.
If you turn to scripture, you may have heard about Job. Job was “blameless and upright.” God bragged to Satan and, with God’s provision that he couldn’t take his life, Satan said he would try to make Job turn away from his faith. At the devil’s hand, and in a span of two days, Job lost 500 oxen, 500 donkeys, 3,000 camels, all of his servants were killed (except three messengers), fire burned his 7,000 sheep, a house collapsed on his seven sons and three daughters, killing them instantly, and Job was afflicted with painful sores all over his body. Wow. And do you know his response?
“The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
Would that have been your response? My answer would have been a resounding "No." But, suddenly, my problems don’t seem so big compared to what Job had to go through. And despite losing everything, still he praised God. God tested Job and he prevailed. And because of that, God blessed him even more than he could have ever imagined.
"The Lord blessed the latter part of Job’s life more than the former part. He had [14,000] sheep, [6,000] camels, [1,000] yoke of oxen and [1,000] donkeys. And he also had seven sons and three daughters. The first daughter he named Jemimah, the second Keziah and the third Keren-Happuch. Nowhere in all the land were there found women as beautiful as Job’s daughters, and their father granted them an inheritance along with their brothers. After this, Job lived a hundred and forty years; he saw his children and their children to the fourth generation. And so Job died, an old man and full of years."
When you walk through the tough seasons of life, lean into scripture and find peace that God will use all things for good. There are seasons for everything in this life. And those seasons have reasons, whether we find out what those reasons are or not. But we hold onto our faith that God will carry us through it.
Please continue to check the CUW events page on our website for upcoming events. We would love to see you all in attendance.
With blessings and gratitude
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