My husband and I were stunned to see our Alma Mater on the news tonight. A masked gunman walked into a classroom on the Northern Illinois University campus and started shooting. As I write this post, several are wounded and some are dead. I am sure that many will ask “Where is God?” in the days to come. And although I don’t understand the events of this day, I want to answer: He is right there.
When Samuel and the Israelites defeated the Philistines, Samuel raised an Ebenezer, or stone of help, as a monument to God’s great help and blessing. I would raise my Ebenezer at NIU. Many of the most significant events of my life happened there.
It was at NIU that I fell in love with Jesus, and learned how to give Him every facet of my life. The Lord used some godly female students to sharpen me as iron sharpens iron. My roommate and I met every night with two other Christians to pray for all 50 residents on our floor. God amazed and humbled us with many opportunities to witness to the students we were praying for. At the end of one semester, every person on our floor had heard the Gospel, and some had been saved.
I fell in love with someone else at NIU…my husband. My life bears witness to the grace, love and godly leadership I am blessed with through him. We got married the summer before our Senior year and enjoyed the encouraging fellowship of 5 other Christian student-couples who did the same thing. The Lord called us to overseas missions while we were at NIU, and He used staff-workers from one of the campus ministries to train and prepare us for the work we would do there.
Those campus ministries are still there. There are still many Christians there, praying and witnessing and growing in Christ. As you watch the news coverage about Northern Illinois University, please remember to pray for the Christians on campus who are discipling young believers and witnessing to non-Christians in the aftermath of this terrible tragedy.
David and the boys took this photo of our old dorm in November
Here I raise my Ebenezer, hither by thy help I’m come
And I hope, by thy good pleasure, safely to arrive at home.
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand’ring from the fold of God.
He, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood.
Great post, Molly, and great thoughts. We used to live not too far from DeKalb and we know many people who go to this college. I also enjoyed your testimony concerning your time there and I am so glad that there are still Christians who are present and I will be praying that they will be able to minister in the midst of this horrific event. We know several Christian people who attend there and they are trying to help out in any way.
Molly, just saw your intro on SHS and am reading through your blog. I had to comment here–I thank you so much for this post. We lived very close to New Life Church in Colo. Springs, participating in their hs co-op and other activities. We moved last summer, and that was the scene of a tragic shooting a few months ago. Despite the initial tragedy, it was SO clear how God was so visible in all of it–absolutely incredible.
With so much evil reported in the news, it’s easy for me to forget to look for Jesus in those stories. Thank you for the reminder.