Connections

I have served in higher education for 24 years, and I love it. Every bit of it. Counseling students about financial aid, helping them understand and complete the FAFSA and its corresponding verification forms, planning activities with them and for them, advising them about classes and careers, teaching them to at least appreciate English since much of our society communicates via English—even if only to write a note excusing their future and/or current children from class so that the instructors clearly know the note came from them, not the kid(s)—and seeing their excitement while walking around England, Ireland and France as they connect their literature studies to real life.

As a professor, I so very much wanted to do what was right and good for students that I embraced assessing the teaching and learning in my own classroom. Whatever the task, I want to know I’m doing it right so that I can feel successful and realize I’m doing my job. If I’m doing something wrong, I want to know that, too, so I can use all my experiences and degrees to do better.

This passion becomes even stronger when the institution for which I work provides a Christian higher education. Now, not only do I want to do my personal best as unto the Lord, but I know what it is for a church, for a community, to love the Lord with its corporate heart, soul, mind and strength, and to do unto others as it would have them do to it. I know what it is to develop “students for leadership and service through excellence in Christian higher education,” which is FPU’s mission.

But just as we have the Bible to show us where it is written to help hold us accountable to living out our faith in Jesus so that our outside selves mirror our inside selves, we have assessment initiatives to help hold us accountable to our professional calling, to FPU’s mission, so that our tangible teaching and learning efforts mirror our intended teaching and learning efforts.

I’m fairly certain that all of us have experienced the consequences of poor assessment—the uncomfortable intersection of our intentions with our results—be it ordering the special dinner at a favorite restaurant only to receive the actual menu item called The Special Dinner, not the deliciously described daily special written on the sidewalk board greeting us at the restaurant’s door, or intending to introduce the student activities coordinator at freshman orientation only to introduce the “SAC Head” instead.

My position at FPU as the director of assessment combines my passion with the mission and vision of this Christ-centered university. I am tasked with helping FPU determine how well it is fulfilling its mission and achieving its five thematic goals (i.e., GROW Strategically, ENGAGE Collectively, INNOVATE Creatively, SERVE Courageously, TRANSFORM Purposefully). I am responsible for helping the university equip itself for improvement, for helping us understand student experiences by inviting them to tell us about said experiences. Not to cheapen the beauty and instruction of scripture, but assessment allows us to clearly and persuasively communicate with those inside and outside the university what it means and what it looks like to develop students for leadership and service through excellence in Christian higher education. Assessment allows the university to define its nature and acknowledge the fruits of its labor.

I know that not everyone is passionate about assessment, just like I know not everyone is passionate about diagramming sentences. I once had a colleague tell me that if he had to do my job that he’d hasten his entry into heaven. And that’s okay. In fact, it’s perfect: we are the body of Christ and the body of the university. Some of us are the hands, some of us are the feet, and I’m quite certain that many of my colleagues would say that assessment is the university’s backside, which is fine with me. I’m honored to help provide stability and balance, as well as to help support movement, be it forward or backward, as together we join in the university’s ongoing cycle of inquiry into doing what is right and good for the students of Fresno Pacific University.

It has been a blessing to work with Dr. Jones these past five years. I have been reflecting on the privilege I had of witnessing Dr. Joe’s ministry through cabinet sessions, individual meetings and various informal conversations. When he told President’s Cabinet last October he would be announcing to the FPU Board of Trustees that he was retiring, my first thought was, “Say it ain’t so Joe!” But I can’t really fault him for wanting to be close to his family, including his grandchildren. 

When Dr. Joe first arrived one of his top priorities was to strengthen FPU’s relationships with churches, schools and outside groups. I went with him on some of his meetings throughout the Valley, the state and even nationally.

Dr. Joe met with mayors, community college presidents, church leaders, key business groups, perspective students, alumni, donors, high school principals and lawmakers. His goal was to strengthen the connections between FPU and our partners, and his efforts paid off through grants, enrollment pathways, new students, donations and joint programs. The success we’ve had, such as building enrollment pathways from the community colleges and receiving the $590,000 K16 Collaborative grant, can be traced to some of these initial meetings. Dr. Jones could articulate the uniqueness of FPU, describe our mission and show the value of a Christian education. He also listened and got to know the partner across the table. He often used the language of “Possible Happens Here.”

Watching Dr. Joe in the initial meetings with partners, he always asked how FPU could serve them, their group or the region. He would often ask it more than once. He would push until the person across the table could articulate what they needed that FPU could offer. The partnership was never about taking from the other entity; his focus was on what FPU could give. And in that giving, the partnership was established or strengthened, and almost always FPU benefited through enrollment or other connections. 

As FPU continues to focus on enrollment growth for our future, continuing to serve our partners makes perfect sense. Our region needs well-educated and diverse college graduates with bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees and credentials. FPU has unique modalities our competitors don’t offer. I believe there are plenty of opportunities to serve our region and beyond that can lead FPU to a growth goal of 5,000 students. 

Another powerful thing I learned from watching Joe and Yvette Jones was the way they approached their prayer life as a starting point for everything. Their faithful daily early morning time in Scripture and in prayer, individually and as a couple, was inspiring. The seemingly impossible things that happened over the last few years—the millions in private and public grants, the Warkentine Culture and Arts Center and the many other opportunities and blessings—started with prayer. The impossible happened at FPU. Often in our weekly cabinet meeting devotions, a member would be sharing a verse, and Dr. Joe would smile, and say he was just reading that same passage that morning. When I picture Joe and Yvette, I picture them seeking the Kingdom of God first, on their knees with all their heart, mind and strength. When Dr. Jones and I first started meeting one-on-one, I’d bring him a proposal and he would ask me if I had been praying about it, or how much I had been praying. His humble example inspires me to start all I do with prayer.   

When Dr. Joe considered coming to FPU he was first drawn to how the Fresno Pacific Idea’s language about “extending the kingdom of God” connected to his own personal mission statement. That language was part of the calling and process that cemented bringing Dr. Jones to FPU. 

As God is sending us a new and different president, I am eager to see how God will continue to extend his kingdom through FPU. André Stephens, Ph.D., also answered a calling, and as our community readies for him, I’m hopeful we will continue to work at partnering, service and prayer. 

When I became a Christian at the age of 16, I memorized Romans 8:28. I learned it in the King James Version, but the NIV makes it easier to read. “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who are the called according to His purpose.”

In 2004 I began my work at Fresno Pacific University. One of my sons was a student here and as a father, I thought it would be great to work where my son was going to college. Being a Christian university made it even more appealing. Consequently, my two other sons were destined to attend and graduate from FPU as well.

The Facilities Office was much simpler back then but had many challenges. God allowed me to advance in the department from technician to director. Each level of growth continued to stretch me and my experience in both my Christian walk and my intellectual understanding of the department and its complexities. There were many times I would question if I had made the right decision in advancing in the department. When this would come up, the scripture in Romans would remind me of God’s promise to me: “All things would work out for my good.” This promise would give me peace in every situation I would face. Often after a season of prayer, he would provide his perspective to my situation.

When COVID 19 hit the university and everyone else, it was a very difficult time for all of us in facilities, but our work embraced the principles of GEIST—GROW Strategically, ENGAGE Collectively, INNOVATE Creatively, SERVE Courageously, TRANSFORM Purposely—especially two of the principles.  

As the director, I struggled through the process like everyone else. Trying to keep some sense of normality was a challenge. Engaging Collectively, we decided to make changes slowly and not simply jump from one thing to another. The crew in facilities was great about keeping level heads and working as a team through the process. With the campus being shut down, we began to consider what we could do during this time.

For many years I was in production management. In that fast-paced world, we often had to remind ourselves that circumstances are always filled with challenges and opportunities. You would have to look for the opportunities in every challenge that you face. The opportunities were always there if you were willing to look for them. In Matthew 7:7 it tells us: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” 

With COVID 19, the obvious opportunity was that with the campus closed, we had a “perpetual summer.” This meant that we could Transform Purposely by working on things that we normally would only have a few months to complete. This included dorms repairs, office repairs, outside landscape repairs and many other things too numerous to mention.

We would continue to struggle with staff absences due to COVID 19 but would continue to work with those we had available. It was during this time that we were able to give the university a considerable face lift, with many outside structures and upgrades. Our staff was tireless in getting these things accomplished with the perpetual changes that COVID 19 imposed on the FPU community and everyone else. Many of us felt like first responders when it came to taking care of the COVID 19-related issues, trying to stay safe and keep everyone else safe in the process.

Now we are facing other challenges with our economy, supply chain issues and high inflation which call us to Innovate Creatively. As a department we are looking at everything we do to find more efficient ways of doing things as well as how we can do more with less. We prepare for the future by purchasing inventory items that may be hard to get.

We continue to hold onto the promise that, “All things work together for the good of them that love Him and are called according to His purpose.”

The Fresno Pacific University Board gathered this last Saturday to celebrate with Dr. Joe as he moves into retirement. André Stephens, Ph.D., will assume presidential leadership in only a few weeks. Transitions can be a time of anxiety and uncertainty. But they can also be full of hope and anticipation.

Presidential transition has been an important focus of the work of the board this spring, and we held a special meeting to consider the appointment of Dr. Joe’s successor. On behalf of the board, thank you to all who participated directly in the search process and to the entire university community for your prayers. Please continue to pray for Dr. Joe as he departs and for Dr. Stephens as he joins us on our path.

The board rejoiced, with thanks to the Advancement team and to all who carried the project forward, as we cut the ribbon on the new Warkentine Culture and Arts Center. The project is fully paid for, and we are ready to place the facility into service. We also rejoiced that despite challenges in student recruiting and enrollment that have been driven by the pandemic, God has provided the resources to see us through these last few years. Yet, we recognize significant budget challenges await us in the next years. Please pray with us for God’s continued providence and guidance as we navigate this together.

It seems fitting that during the social distancing of the pandemic we built a space intended bring people together. And it is in engaging the communities, engaging one another, that we carry out our mission. We are reminded that God keeps the church in the world to carry out his work. Let us keep his purposes firmly in mind and guiding us as we build the future of all who work and study in our spaces.

What do a 2,000-year-old text and California’s Central Valley have in common? This question could sound like the set-up for a really awful joke, but it’s a query that I regularly ask my students to take seriously as we study the Bible together. Given that the Bible was written long before smartphones, electric cars and social media, just what relevance does this text have for today? The answer: quite a lot, actually!

Just this past semester, for example, I had the joy of journeying with students as they explored the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew. On the one hand, there are parts of this text that have such value that they have endured for centuries, both in Christianity and beyond. For example, Jesus’s articulation of the “Golden Rule” in Matthew 7:12 encourages his audience to do to others as you would have them do to you. The relevance there is clear. On the other hand, though, some parts of this text could seem incredibly out of touch. After all, I haven’t seen many one-eyed or one-handed Christians walking around, despite Jesus’s clear warning about removing such body parts if they might lead to sin (Matthew 5:29-30). So, where can the stalwart student discover the significance of this text for today?

I challenge students to face this question directly as they consider how this ancient text might address the needs and the questions of 21^st-century audiences right here in the Central Valley. So, for the major written assignment for the course, students choose a social issue facing our region and learn more about it. To do this, they venture off campus to meet with regional leaders who can shed light on the realities of life in the Central Valley. Some students interview leaders at the Poverello House to learn more about homelessness. Others check out the Marjaree Mason Center to find out about the impacts of domestic violence. Still others head out to the United Farmer Workers (UFW) office to learn about how immigration policies affect the agricultural workers who keep the Valley’s agricultural production running.

No matter where students choose to conduct these site visits, they inevitably return to class with a renewed sense of the social issues facing their region. At this point, we consider together how Jesus’s instructions about social issues in his context and culture might translate into ethical imperatives for the settings that they visited. As they consider what Jesus instructs in the Sermon on the Mount, I ask them to imagine how those instructions might be translated into a sermon inspiring to the parts of the community that they engaged. Often, students will craft moving sermons that make it clear that they understand how Jesus’ words roughly 2,000 years ago continue to echo into the modern-day world of Fresno.

Whether they realize it or not, students who complete this assignment are contributing to the realization of FPU’s strategic goals, or GEIST. This plan calls for FPU to “Innovate Creatively” and “Serve Courageously.” As students wrestle with the ways in which a text that is over 2,000 years old can be relevant to the Central Valley today, they develop biblically based and innovative solutions intended to serve some of the most vulnerable populations in our region.

While I always hope that class assignments will challenge students to innovate and serve more eagerly, this particular assignment has had a special impact. A few years ago after one student conducted her site visit at the UFW office, she returned to class energized by the experience. She told our class, “I thought I might want to be an immigration attorney before this visit, but since doing this assignment, I now know for sure that this is what God wants me to do with my life.” That student went on to become a regular volunteer with the UFW as a result of this encounter orchestrated by a classroom assignment.

For that student, the ancient words of the Bible came to life as she read them alongside the “text” of communities in the Central Valley. Both the ancient words of Scripture and the revelation of God’s Spirit at work in our region worked together in accomplishing another aspect of GEIST: purposeful transformation. I pray that FPU students will continue to encounter God both within the “texts” of both Scripture and experience as they pursue their educational and vocational goals.

The last time I was in the classroom at FPU was the spring of 1999. Earlier this month, I completed my master’s degree here. I’m almost a little upset because I realize I could have gone through this program many years ago. Yet, I look forward to the work ahead with newfound knowledge and excitement.

I knew I would learn and grow, but I did not anticipate this much growth and purposeful transformation. After having been removed from the student perspective for so many years, I appreciate their journey and plan to keep it in mind as I serve the students and employees at FPU. Of course, the M.A. Strategic and Organizational Leadership program taught me a lot about leadership. Still, more importantly, it equipped me to engage individuals and organizations in their efforts to be transformed.

In IT, one of the questions we often pose to software and hardware vendors is whether they use their own products. This is a valuable indicator of their belief in the product and provides them unique insight into its strengths and weaknesses. I got to experience FPU’s product during the last two years. I was on the receiving end of the emails, and I accessed the student systems. All of this affected the viewpoint of my work. The more barriers we remove and the more streamlined an experience students have, the more time and energy they can pour into their studies.

Five years ago, just as Dr. Joe was starting his term, I wrote a Connections article about the excitement I felt when I began my time at FPU as a student, likening it to the enthusiasm for Dr. Joe’s arrival. Of course there were trepidations, but also some assurances that God would lead me/us through the journey. If I was going to be successful, I needed to engage with my community actively. So here I am again, reflecting on the recent lessons and looking forward to the next chapter. Reflection is an integral part of growth.

A large part of the master’s program involved self-reflection assignments. Each week we responded to a series of topical questions. While the point values were minimal, their significance became much more meaningful. The prompts guided my journey of growth and transformation. I realized I was experiencing leadership development during the program, and I acknowledged it was proportional to my efforts. The more I poured into my studies, the more meaningful the content became. I appreciate the many perspectives we were exposed to in the curriculum.

I love FPU. This place changed the course of my life. FPU is where I met my wife, where she got her bachelor’s, teaching credential and master’s, where I started my career, and where our spiritually adopted daughter got her bachelor’s, teaching credential and master’s degree. This institution transformed and continues to transform my life, fulfilling in part the intent of GEIST. I encourage you to reflect on your time here at FPU and acknowledge the growth and purposeful transformation you’ve experienced.

On the Friday before commencement, like the rest of faculty and staff (and probably students for that matter), I sat at home gearing myself up for yet another on-campus, end-of-the-year event. This one was the Multicultural Celebration at Butler Church. My wife, Karen, and I grabbed a quick bite to eat, locked up the house and began walking to my last scheduled function before Saturday’s graduation ceremony at Selland Arena. You may already be able to deduce that my heart may not have been in the right place that night. My introverted fatigue (yes, I am an introvert—most people would never guess that) was shouting at me to take a rain check and just pass on this one. I chose to push through, and boy am I glad that I did.

When I arrived, I was greeted by a room full of visibly excited and ostensibly elated students and their families. I was drawn in immediately. Bre Wyse showed me to my seat up in the front of the room and sat me next to our amazing student body president that I’ve had such a wonderful time getting to know and work closely with over the course of the past four years. Veronica Mendez Garcia welcomed me with a smile and a friendly hello (since she’s a public figure around these parts, I feel comfortable mentioning her by name). I felt honored to be sharing a row with her. She is the epitome of a “transformed” FPU student. The Veronica of four years ago showed but faint glimmers of this poised, confident, professional, ready-to-address-an-audience woman that I witnessed that night. My heart swelled as I considered the number of folks on this campus that invested mightily into Veronica to help tease out all the God-given potential that was simmering just below the surface. She connected wonderfully to the room and truly motivated through her brief soliloquy.

As the ceremony went on, a young man spoke about how he had overcome numerous obstacles during his journey and that, as a first-generation student, he managed to pull though to be the first person in his family to hold a bachelor’s degree. I was fairly certain I heard what amounted to be the FPU equivalent of a “yo, Adrian, we did it”-like proclamation from the student to his peers in the room. At this point, if there was a dry eye in the house, I wouldn’t have been able to ascertain it through my, what must have been, dust-induced moist eyes. Go figure it would get so dusty in the worship center at just this time.

As the program drew towards the end, a young woman who four years ago happened to be in a CP152 First-Year Seminar course with one of the best instructors the FPU Collegium has ever witnessed (I’ll give you one guess who—OK, it was me), recited a beautiful prayer in Spanish over the audience. Her composure, grace and eloquence were acknowledged by all. How had this student matured so much in four years? She truly is such a tremendous example of the type of scholar/citizen that blesses us for four years and then goes out to make a profound impact on the world.

The night couldn’t have been more perfect for me. Celebrating these monumental achievements with these magnificent students reinvigorated my heart and made me so incredibly excited to be attending commencement the next day. I was mindful of the notion that those of us who get the privilege to engage with these students are richly blessed by this experience. We meet them well into their developmental journey and God graciously permits us the privilege of walking with them for a brief season of life.

We—the instructors, coaches, mentors, advisors, supervisors and friends—not only teach but also get to learn with our students AND through them. Purposeful transformation, I’ve discovered, takes place in all of us through this profound educational ecosystem called FPU. I remain humbled and honored that God has chosen me to be a participant. The Multicultural Celebration was a welcome and beautiful reminder of just how fortunate we are to do this work.

Engage and transform. These keywords are two of the essential pillars of Fresno Pacific University’s GEIST paradigm. We seek to engage collectively and transform purposefully. In my role as director of government relations and external affairs these two ideas frame my everyday work. Let me give you a couple of examples.

In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, the regulatory and relief landscape was changing by the day, if not the hour. I am sure you remember that period too. New advice, new rules and a series of legislative proposals at the state and federal levels to address the economic and health impacts of the virus. FPU very ably activated the Emergency Management Team to work with leadership on the campus response. The EMT, led by members of several of our departments, created and implemented policies and procedures to help our community stay safe—and importantly stay compliant—in the face of ever-changing standards.

While all of that was happening, there was also a series of conversations taking place with lawmakers in both Sacramento and Washington, D.C., to ensure that FPU and institutions like ours were properly considered in rule-making processes and additionally, that our financial needs were adequately addressed in the various COVID relief bills. Engaging with our association partners and sister Christian colleges and universities in California, we were able to transform the initial CARES Act from its original text, which did not include independent non-profit colleges and universities, into a bill that not only included our schools, but that used a funding formula that recognized the unique contribution our sector makes to higher education nationwide. As you’re now aware, those funds have proved to be vital to us here at FPU. I want to be clear; this was not the result of any one individual’s advocacy work—certainly not mine alone—but was the byproduct of collective engagement and collaboration on behalf of our institutions and students from a wide range of colleagues in similar roles at hundreds of private non-profit schools.

More recently, California’s lawmakers in 2021 passed the first increase to the Cal Grant award for students at independent non-profit universities in over two decades and are considering major Cal Grant reforms during this 2022 legislative session that would create a new, much more stable framework for our students and schools. The Cal Grant award is such a foundational financial piece for so many FPU students and their families that this remains our key advocacy priority.

On both last year’s increase and this year’s reform efforts we have been engaging our incredible students to tell their stories of transformation to legislators. These powerful testimonies of personal and educational life-change, made financially possible by the Cal Grant, are the most effective way to communicate to those in Sacramento why it’s essential our Valley students get the support they need to come to FPU. So, through a series of meetings with state legislators, FPU undergrads have been able to do just that. As a result, we are confident the necessary changes to the Cal Grant system will be made.  

These are two examples of our growing legislative advocacy portfolio. We’re currently working on issues that impact student-athletics, student life, financial aid, admissions, advancement and facilities. As our needs grow and evolve it’s highly likely that in the months and years to come, I will be reaching out to your department, your team or perhaps even you personally to engage your expertise and experience in this effort to engage collectively and transform purposefully.  

In another month Yvette and I would have served here at Fresno Pacific for five years. As we had sensed the call to come, we now believe it is the time to leave. All that we discern God wanted to do through us is completed. Our goal was to set a foundation for the next leader God sends to FPU. We had sufficient time to ask God questions, but the most valued time we spent in Fresno was listening to the questions God asked us.

Our natural tendency in education is to analyze, ask and investigate. This is part of the learning process. Sometimes we become so filled with knowledge that we are deaf to the one voice that is important. All we see, hear and think chokes the Word God spoke. Several years ago, I shared a quote with this community: “God speaks to those who take time to listen.” I first heard it during an all-night prayer meeting, months before going to college. I am frequently reminded of this saying. It comes to me in business, in relationships, in new partnerships and in listening to controversial voices that fight each other daily.

A few weeks ago, I read and heard a question Jesus asked of Peter. A question that comes to most of us but is often ignored because our eyes see more than our ears hear, and our thoughts reason more than our hearts believe. So, the question comes and goes, and we ignore its source. Jesus asked Peter this question that comes to us: “You of little faith, why do you doubt?”

The question does not come to us for an answer. It comes to us as a discerner of the heart. All that we see around us, even our expectations of the future, points to a reason to fear, to doubt and to question the validity of the truth that has constructed the ages. Jesus stepped out on the water which created a fear in his disciples. His response: “take courage… do not be afraid.” When fear and doubt entrap our thoughts and sight, we doubt the promises of God. This question should always haunt us, because it is a question about our relationship to God: “why do you doubt?”

We commend Peter because out of all 12 disciples, he stepped into the supernatural with Jesus. This act likely didn’t enter the minds of the other 11. But he, as many of us do, became distracted by what we all would agree was the reality of the situation. So, the question was not about the reality of the situation, it was about the reality of his heart.

God’s questions are all about our hearts. He knows the answer, but we fail to discern the obvious. Our hearts do not honor him through our trust. Maybe if we would take more time to listen, our trust would grow and his word would become our courage to fight all fears. His word will raise the questions to our hearts, then give us the faith to believe. God will speak to those who take time to listen. It is his voice that grants us peace and joy to overcome the thoughts that bind us. Possible will only continue at FPU as long as we in community honor God with our trust.

I am enjoying the arrival of spring and our refreshed campus community engaging in different activities. We see the reawakening of trees and flowers and the visual reminders of new life—signs of a fresh path forward! We see the Cultural Arts Center nearing completion, reflecting the hope and dreams of many people through the years. I see the calendar filling with events celebrating the accomplished work of students and the ushering of students into new journeys where their story is yet written. We are heading for a strong finish for the spring semester. This strong finish comes as we complete a journey of working through obstacles—obstacles that we did not fully understand. Yet, spring is here.

GEIST, our strategic map, has provided a unifying guide for our work in furthering the mission of FPU in the last three years. Despite the challenges of COVID, faculty, staff and students have emerged with resilience, sorrow and joy. Throughout the semester, faculty continued to explore creative ways to teach in a face-to-face format while wearing masks, using microphones and accommodating students who needed to quarantine for a period. Students are completing their studies and degrees. Students are preparing for finals and end-of-semester projects. Faculty are preparing final classes that promote knowledge and skill growth while also attending to the development of lifelong learning in their students. Staff are busily making celebration events possible and supporting our students in unassuming ways. The work that we do here, the work to which we are committed, is often fraught with hardship and challenges, but such work has implications for new beginnings. I am grateful and humbled by that simple, but not always easy, connection. At FPU, our path for impact includes:

• Academic growth through innovative program and pedagogical development
• Educational access for students in need
• Love-driven diversity
• Mental health and emotional wellness support
• Commitment to community engagement through a variety of activities
• Establishment of academic partnerships
• Receiving grants to fund academic innovation, community outreach and partnerships
• The Center for Online Learning facilitating virtual pedagogical shifts
• Resumption of in-person events

We have accomplished much over this year for which we can be grateful. We have also risked and failed, for which we also ought to be grateful. Spring is God’s way of reminding us of God’s faithfulness and grace. Yet, spring comes after winter. Our spring comes after battling through obstacles and challenges and yet, so many good things happened. How do we respond?

With apologies to Wendell Berry, “Give your approval to all you cannot understand...Ask the questions that have no answers. Laugh. Be joyful though you have considered all the facts....Practice resurrection.”