At first glance, this may look like just a building.
It is SO much more than that.
To me, this "building" is the home of my school. This "building" is one of my favorite places on earth, and that's saying something. I've seen waves beat against the shoreline of the Pacific; I've seen freighters pull into Puget Sound with the Seattle skyline as a backdrop; I've seen vast, golden-brown stretches of desert through southern Idaho; I've seen the California highlands, stretching on like a flat plane for mile after mile; I've seen majestic peaks rise sharply from the Wyoming sagebrush. I've seen the land that my forefathers have walked, worked and lived on; the land where my family pioneered its way into American history as the first permanent settlers of Jackson's Hole. But none of these places captured a personal meaning to me quite as much as this building has.
I had graduated from high school in the fall of 2006 and taken a term at a local community college before deciding that it was not for me. I worked for awhile at a seasonal position before being let go right at the end of 2007. At the beginning of 2008, my life was in a sort of turmoil. I had lost my job, had gotten a major rejection from (what I thought was) the girl of my dreams, and was basically at a dead end in the road. Fortunately, I had God on my side and was more committed to Him then ever before and luckily, with God, there is no dead end in the road. :) I prayed for several weeks about what I should do next in my life, and on a blustery day in the middle of February, God gave me the answer.
"Go to Salem Bible College."
That's all he said.
Go to Salem Bible College.
His answer was simple -- and, being like most every other person I've ever met, I didn't want to accept it. But, I did.
When I started at SBC, it was the fall of 2008 and I was 20 years old. Salem Bible College was just a small private institution. They didn't have dorm rooms for their students or even a multi-function library. There were 30 students in the entire school. And as bad as it seems, the thing I was the most concerned about was financial aid. The college didn't have it. At all. My cost for a full year of tuition for three terms of school was just a shade over $3500. I knew that once I registered for classes, I wouldn't be able to pay the balance. Coming from a family that was (and still is) poor, the idea of owing so much money was a complete travesty to me. But I registered anyway. I registered because I knew God wanted me at Salem Bible College. Since then, I have never looked back.
Fast forward to Spring, 2010. A lot has happened at Salem Bible College in 2 years. We have merged with a much larger university from Washington state -- Northwest University. They move us to a much larger building. We get full library space, with over 4000 volumes. We get dorm rooms for 16 students. We are now eligible for financial aid, and have been since the school merged in 2009. Then, Northwest decides to drop a bomb on my hopes and dreams: unless I pay off my student account in full, I will not be able to register for fall classes, or for any subsequent term until my balance is zero. My account balance at that time was slightly over $2000. A far cry from the $3500 I started out paying, but still an insurmountable goal -- or so I thought.
Fast forward with me, once more, to today. It has been over a year since I've set foot into a classroom as a student at Salem Bible College. God has taught me a lot in the past year that I wasn't in school. He's taught me about patience. Oh Lord, have I learned patience!...He's taught me about trusting Him for complete provision, and what it means to follow Him.
I am pleased to announce that as of 4:30 PM yesterday, after more than 3 years and $3500, I am completely debt-free from this institution. I now have a complete zero balance with Northwest University, and I WILL BE RETURNING TO SCHOOL AT SALEM BIBLE COLLEGE THIS FALL!!! There is no way to tell how excited I am about this. I know that my year out of school has been good, in a way. Although it left me hurting because I wanted so badly to be learning, I know that God had a reason for having me miss this past year of school. I can't wait until I set foot into the classroom again, to be learning from God's word one more time.
Take a look at the picture at the top of this page again. Salem Bible College is NOT just a building. Not to me. It is a representation of perseverance, of faith, and trust in God's plan. It is a representation of my human spirit. To understand where you are going, you have to understand where you have been.
This building is where I have been.
This story is how I got here.
This college will shape who I become.
Where have YOU been? How did YOU get here? Who are YOU?
Take a step of faith today and let God show you the answers.
