Founded By God

On June 5^th, I received an email that my college alma mater, Clearwater Christian College, would be closing its doors forever on June 30^th. Within 24 hours, my facebook newsfeed was filled with posts from my CCC friends about it. It wasn’t long before someone started a group to share memories and encourage each other. Many people requested that there be a final service at the college before it was closed. That service was this past Sunday. I’m very thankful that I was able to attend.

The service was led by Mr. Ben Puckett – a CCC alumnus who had been on staff for many years post-graduation. He was on staff during my time at CCC and one of his daughters and I had a few classes together. CCC had been a huge part of his life, and I honestly don’t know how he made it through the service without being more emotional than he was. I don’t think I could have done it if I had been in his shoes. He did a great job putting just the right about of humor and seriousness. He gave a brief history of the college decade by decade. He asked people from each decade to participate in the service by speaking, playing the piano, or singing. Here are the lyrics to one of the songs that was sung. I think it spoke to a lot of people because the closing of the college hit a lot of people hard – especially those who have invested a huge part of their lives in the school and the students and now are at a bit of a loss as to what comes next.

Blessings

By Laura Story

We pray for blessings

We pray for peace

Comfort for family, protection while we sleep

We pray for healing, for prosperity

We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while, You hear each spoken need

Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom

Your voice to hear

And we cry in anger when we cannot feel You near

We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love

As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

All the while, You hear each desperate plea

And long that we have faith to believe

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

What if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

And what if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us

When darkness seems to win

We know that pain reminds this heart

That this is not, this is not our home

It's not our home

'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops

What if Your healing comes through tears

And what if a thousand sleepless nights

Are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments

Or the achings of this life

Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy

And what if trials of this life

The rain, the storms, the hardest nights

Are Your mercies in disguise

At one point in the service Mr. Puckett led the whole gym full of people singing Holy, Holy, Holy. It sounded absolutely beautiful. Then came the preaching part of the service. Mr. Bob Carver had been chosen to give the final message – something most (and likely all) of his former students were very happy about. Like the lessons he taught throughout the decades he taught at CCC, his final message at the college was filled with wisdom, encouragement, and it pointed to God. I’d like to share the main points of his message. Like in college, I took notes, but they might be a bit paraphrased since I don’t write nearly fast enough to keep up.

1)      We are completely dependent on God. (Psalm 63:8)

2)      We don’t know what a day may bring forth. Live every day with urgency and to impact eternity. (Proverbs 16:9)

3)      Live in constant prayer and thanksgiving.

4)      We have a constant need to confess our sins and repent.

5)      God is not finished with us yet.

Clearwater Christian College may be closed now, but the impact the college made lives on through the students whose lives were changed because they attended it. God’s plan for CCC may have come to an end, but God isn’t done with the alumni, faculty, and staff. It may be a change of direction for some, and a feeling of loss for many, but God’s plan isn’t over. To close the service, Jonathan Steele (son of the college’s founder) led us all in singing the school’s song which had written many years ago. It was so fitting that he closed the service by leading his song one last time. I had never met him, but I’m thankful that he was able to attend and have that part in the service. Then Dr. Ebert closed us in prayer.

For me, the day was very bittersweet. It was great catching up with college friends. During the service, I sat with my friends, Jenny and Bill. During my college years, I often sat with the two of them for morning chapel services, so it felt like being there took me back 9 years (aside from the fact that I had my 5 year old son there for the closing service and during my college years, his daddy and I had probably only spoken a couple words to each other ever). I got to see some of my professors, former roommates and unit-mates. It was really nice. I got to show my son various places around the campus and introduce him to people. I wanted to stay longer, but Corey had had about all he could take. A two hour service is a lot for a 5 year old to sit through and he was starting to get hungry. As I drove away from the campus for the last time, I wanted to turn around and go back. It hit me that that was likely the last time I would ever see many of those people this side of Heaven. There will be no more alumni events. No more newsletters telling about alumni marriages, births of children, and new jobs. I was sad that I had never made it over to attend any of the alumni vs current student sporting events. Most of the years since graduation, I had lived out of state (or out of the country) and the timing was never right for me to be able to go, and now I’ve lost my chance. I feel sad that my son won’t have the opportunity to attend my alma mater (and even the community college I attended as a dual enroll student while in high school and during summers while I was on break from CCC has since changed its name, so he can’t attend there as it was when I was there either). Yes, it’s a bit early to start thinking about college for my 5 year old, but up until the announcement was made about the college closing, I liked that he would one day have the option to attend CCC as I had done. After the service, they had tables set up with logo items that people could take. One of the items was one of those was one of those rubber bracelets with the words “The Cougar Challenge: Proverbs 27:17”. Proverbs 27:17 says, “As iron sharpens iron, So a man sharpens the countenance of his friend.” I found that to be so fitting both of the closing service and of my years at CCC. Looking back, I can see so many times where God used people during the 3 ½ years while I was there to sharpen me, to teach me, to challenge me, to encourage me, and to minister to me. During the closing service, God used those who sang and spoke to continue in that work. Clearwater Christian College may be closed, but we are its legacy. We are Clearwater.

Please pray for those directly affected by the closing – the students who will have to find new schools and the faculty and staff who will have to find new jobs. For many, they will be starting over after decades of working at the college. That will be quite a transition for them.