***UPDATE: Video from Jackson Sun…I’m so proud of these Union students…***

I saw a comment on one of the posts from the UUEmergency blog by a man who said he wasn’t a church goer but had been so impressed by the way Union students and staff were handling things as they talked with reporters over the last 48 hours that he had just mailed a check to the disaster relief fund.

That’s a huge compliment to the Union University family but I think it’s about much more than just the university itself. It says something about the character of the people there. The leadership, certainly, but also the people that are attracted to come. The students, the faculty, the staff, the community around them.

When I looked at Union as a wide-eyed senior in high school, debating whether or not I would make Tennessee my home for the next four years, I remember with fondness a letter I got from the enrollment director at the time, Carroll Griffin. I’d had some reservations at the time, one being it was almost 24 hours away from my family’s home back then in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and Carroll had impressed not only me but my parents with how personal he took it that I make Union my school. I’m sure he had hundreds of students he was talking to about coming, but he took time to write me and that made all the difference in the world. By the time I came for a visit to tour the campus, I was hooked. Union was where I needed to be.

Life was good. I learned much and benefited from my time there. But I got homesick. And I transferred to another college to be closer to home and to boyfriend (now my husband :) ). While I believe everything happens for a reason, it probably was not one of my best choices in life. After coming home to Louisiana (where my family moved after high school) after my sophomore year and working in Christian radio, getting engaged and then getting married, I knew I wanted to finish my degree. And I knew there was only one place to do it.

I still remember the conversation I had with Cliff. We were sitting in our little house in Zachary talking about the future and both of us going back to school. I was hesitant to bring up Union because I didn’t know how he’d feel about leaving his hometown and moving almost 8 hours away.

“We need to go back to Union,” he suddenly told me. My eyes got big and I looked hopeful. “Really, are you sure? Why?”

“Because. There’s something about that place that is special. There’s a spirit of community there. It’s where we need to be.”

So Cliff and I both moved to Union in 1999, lived in married housing and worked and took classes. It was a little strange to be there as a married student but we enjoyed our time. I ended up being hired as the news director in 2000 and for three years I got to know faculty, staff and students up close and personal.

The best way I can explain what it’s like at Union University is that God is not just in the chapel service. See, that second year of college when I transferred to another Christian school to be closer to home, God was only in the chapel. And I saw the difference in a big way. At Union, He is everywhere. He’s in the dorms and the cafeteria and the hallways. Students live their faith beyond the chapel, beyond the classroom, it spills out into the commons and into the communities where they serve. They wrestle with the hard questions; they focus on what God wants to teach them.

The president, Dr. Dockery, and several faculty members, put out a book several years ago called “Shaping a Christian Worldview” describing the mission, you could say, of what Union is all about, bringing faith into the classroom and out into the community, applying biblical truth to every aspect of life. It’s not religion; it’s God-breathed faith at work where you are.

Eventually I felt led by God to leave Union and go on to new adventures and new experiences He wanted me to have. But Union has never really left me. It will forever have a footprint on my heart, it will forever be a reminder to me to strive for excellence in everything I do, to live out my faith, to tackle challenges with hope and focus and an assurance that God is there.

Just like anything, Union the organization, the institution, isn’t perfect. But we as people aren’t perfect. We have flaws, but I believe God can honor and use even our flaws. And I think if we boiled it down, maybe that’s what Union is the best at. These are people – students, faculty, staff – who continually make themselves available to God to be used, flaws and all, but who are always striving for their best, to make a difference, to bring hope wherever needed, to give excellence over mediocrity.

The challenges that the school is facing right now are enormous. Initial estimates are $40 million in damages and I’m sure that will go up as time uncovers more. But we serve an enormous God who I know will bless Union even greater from this point on then they’ve been blessed in the past.

There is something that no tornado or storm or natural or manmade disaster can take away from people and that is character. Union’s character is solid and they will overcome this challenge and be even stronger because of it.

A disaster relief fund has been set up. If you’re a Union alum, I challenge you to contribute if you haven’t already. If you’re not connected to Union at all, I’d still like to ask you to consider sending something. This school has seen some incredible leaders, businessmen, scientists, teachers, missionaries come through its doors over the years and I know there are others we will see bless this world as they learn as Union students. Let’s make sure those opportunities continue to be there.

Union University Disaster Relief Fund
1050 Union University Drive
Jackson, TN 38305

Related posts:

  1. Praying for Union University
  2. When Writing Leaves the Page
  3. Today’s Relevance for ‘Relevance’