Graduation
In the fall of 2002, I enrolled in college. Originally, I wanted to help people and Psychology seemed like an appropriate field. After studying psychology, I realized that the purpose of “modern” psychology is to give people excuses for continuing in their naturally sinful state of being. The Bible says that “ALL THINGS” are possible through Christ. This means that child molesters, murderers, liars, thieves, and etc. can change if they repent (turn away from) of their sins and truly seek the will of God. Alcoholics Anonymous has seen the power of God. This is why they encourage participants to embrace their faith to overcome the urge to drink. Needless to say, Psychology was out of the question.
My next area of interest was politics. In order to be an effective politician, I felt that I should have a firm grasp of History and foreign affairs. History is important to know what policies have and have not worked. The importance of foreign affairs is obvious. My dream was to work for a conservative think-tank. I was also politically active. I worked on a campaign as the PR guy for an African-American Republican running for state representative in the highly racist portion of southern Ohio. The poor guy got death threats! We lost the election, but won 2 of the 3 counties in the district, so it was a good effort. My best friend and I started the Conservative Student Association at our school, and we smashed (and I mean SMASHED) the liberal organization on campus in a debate. But, on May 1, 2007 my life was changed forever.
I am a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and have been since my quarter of college. This has been an overall positive experience for me. TKE has provided me with a family away from home. I was in the pledge class of Alpha-Alpha along with 7 others; Cody, Booger, Phatty, Travis, Deuce, Schultz, and Tim. With the exception of Cody (who went to prison and likely deserved it) these guys became some of my closest friends. If any one of them called me, even today, with a problem I would do anything within my power to help them. At 6:00 am, on May 1, 2007 I received a call from one of the older members of the fraternity. I knew that for him to be awake and calling me at 6 o’clock the news could not be good.
He informed me that one of my pledge brothers William Travis Ralston (Travis) had killed himself. Travis was not a depressed person. This was not fathomable to me. Of all people, Travis would be the least likely to do this. The circumstances around the shooting are sketchy to everyone including the ones who were there. The coroner and chief investigator believe it was accidental and so do I.
With the death of Travis one thought kept screaming in my mind. This kept me up at night, “I call myself a Christian and I never asked Travis what he thought about God.” In the Gospel of Mark, the last thing Jesus says before ascending to heaven starts with, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). I failed at this. I failed Travis. I failed myself. And, most importantly I failed God. This didn’t sit right with me, as it shouldn’t. The next logical question is “What do I do about it?” This is more simply answered than one might think. When God speaks, you listen. I know some people might say, “He was just emotional after his friend’s death.” This is certainly not the case, because this ripping at my heart was able to override the pain of losing Travis. My focus turned to all my other friends and family who were close to me that I had not reached out to. I swore to myself in the midst of that moment that EVERYONE who was close to me would know about my passion to be close to God.
This transition does not mean that I will force my “religion” on anyone, but I will share what Christ has done for me and how much I appreciate it. But, what does this mean as far as the future. Well, that is the source of a spiritual war that is being waged inside me right now. I am about to graduate. I have 2 logical career paths to take based on my natural talent for Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic. I could either be a lawyer (make plenty of money), or I could follow the direction that I KNOW God is leading me, to Seminary school to study theology. Needless to say, I will be going to seminary. This doesn’t mean the struggle goes away. Please pray for me.
My next area of interest was politics. In order to be an effective politician, I felt that I should have a firm grasp of History and foreign affairs. History is important to know what policies have and have not worked. The importance of foreign affairs is obvious. My dream was to work for a conservative think-tank. I was also politically active. I worked on a campaign as the PR guy for an African-American Republican running for state representative in the highly racist portion of southern Ohio. The poor guy got death threats! We lost the election, but won 2 of the 3 counties in the district, so it was a good effort. My best friend and I started the Conservative Student Association at our school, and we smashed (and I mean SMASHED) the liberal organization on campus in a debate. But, on May 1, 2007 my life was changed forever.
I am a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, and have been since my quarter of college. This has been an overall positive experience for me. TKE has provided me with a family away from home. I was in the pledge class of Alpha-Alpha along with 7 others; Cody, Booger, Phatty, Travis, Deuce, Schultz, and Tim. With the exception of Cody (who went to prison and likely deserved it) these guys became some of my closest friends. If any one of them called me, even today, with a problem I would do anything within my power to help them. At 6:00 am, on May 1, 2007 I received a call from one of the older members of the fraternity. I knew that for him to be awake and calling me at 6 o’clock the news could not be good.
He informed me that one of my pledge brothers William Travis Ralston (Travis) had killed himself. Travis was not a depressed person. This was not fathomable to me. Of all people, Travis would be the least likely to do this. The circumstances around the shooting are sketchy to everyone including the ones who were there. The coroner and chief investigator believe it was accidental and so do I.
With the death of Travis one thought kept screaming in my mind. This kept me up at night, “I call myself a Christian and I never asked Travis what he thought about God.” In the Gospel of Mark, the last thing Jesus says before ascending to heaven starts with, “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mk 16:15). I failed at this. I failed Travis. I failed myself. And, most importantly I failed God. This didn’t sit right with me, as it shouldn’t. The next logical question is “What do I do about it?” This is more simply answered than one might think. When God speaks, you listen. I know some people might say, “He was just emotional after his friend’s death.” This is certainly not the case, because this ripping at my heart was able to override the pain of losing Travis. My focus turned to all my other friends and family who were close to me that I had not reached out to. I swore to myself in the midst of that moment that EVERYONE who was close to me would know about my passion to be close to God.
This transition does not mean that I will force my “religion” on anyone, but I will share what Christ has done for me and how much I appreciate it. But, what does this mean as far as the future. Well, that is the source of a spiritual war that is being waged inside me right now. I am about to graduate. I have 2 logical career paths to take based on my natural talent for Grammar, Rhetoric, and Logic. I could either be a lawyer (make plenty of money), or I could follow the direction that I KNOW God is leading me, to Seminary school to study theology. Needless to say, I will be going to seminary. This doesn’t mean the struggle goes away. Please pray for me.
posted by tank at 10:32 PM
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