Jewells of Thought

I will never forget years and years ago. Warren Allen was preaching at Fellowship, Grandpa was gone at that point and I remember it was after I had started college myself. Some of these years are a bit hazy considering it’s been at least 20 years, but also because mourning did something to me when Grandpa died. Although, Michael, not my Uncle Mike, a friend and fellow church member who was dangerously close to my age was reporting on college life himself.

I want to say I was in the choir loft when Michael briefly spoke that one Sunday morning. Honestly I don’t remember all the specifics as I should I guess. What I do remember is that he was attending Bob Jones University and that he and our pastor had discussed the protest that had come to his campus and then asked if he would say a few words. I still remember his disappointment as he recounted the event. I had never noticed any protesters at Oakland City University where I was attending and still have never heard of any having been to my Alma mater since.

Still his words have lingered in my mind through the years, I guess I can officially say decades now. His school was allowing a protest by a group of the Alphabet Soup. The name changes and I don’t remember exactly what it was, maybe back then it was just an LGB Group that wanted to protest on what their idea of Bob Jones’ biblical stance of sex and love was against their interpretation. Anyhow Michael was telling us that the students on campus reacted badly to this protest. Instead of being the adults in the room holding their ground they made the protesters look like adults. Our congregation didn’t expect that either and was just as grieved from that misrepresentation of the biblical stance.

A part of me wonders if that’s why I only saw him back at church for my Children’s Christmas Program. His sister ended up singing with my younger brother. Did that protest change something for him that no one else in the church was ever allowed to see because of that distance? I will never forget the last time I saw him.

This is another hazy spell for me I want to say it was the night of the Program that I had to work a late shift, but that doesn’t seem right. I think maybe the next day or within that week was the last time I saw him. After all of these years it still seems like he wanted to say more but he didn’t all we could do was say platitudes like we were teenagers instead of college students. Yet I haven’t seen him since and I see his family constantly especially with some of the most recent events at my parents church where they attend church. He’s never come home, not to meet his niece, not to now meet his future brother-in-law. I can’t reconcile this man to the younger college student I remember.

What will these Jewish students be dealing with if this is because of a protest? Could this be as life-changing? These Israeli students are being threatened on campus these non students and Hamas fighters are not backing down they have crossed the line. They are still the useful idiots of Hamas, but now at Colombia they are taking hostages.Whether they are Jews or the staff workers I am not completely certain, but this is way out of whack.This whole private property crap has to be overruled and the law and order has to be maintained with the New York Police Department. They must be fomenting, ready at the call to go after these ridiculous people who would side with terrorists against our own American citizens and our allies.

Our rights and protesting are sacred, but there is a line and it’s been crossed over 13 days ago. Honestly… I don’t know what happened to my friend that is in the past. Apparently, somehow his mom found out he is in California of all places, but he hasn’t directly reached out to his family. I don’t know if that had anything to do with that one protest at all simply my wondering mind at work.

These students that are now going through these horrifying protests that have gone berserk though. What will they endure because of this? Columbia told the Jewish students to leave they couldn’t protect them. This is an American campus and they can’t protect American students on American soil. This is truly repugnant that the violators, the protesters are protected and the students wanting to finish their classes and degrees are being scared out of the schools.

Hans and Sophie Scholl were college students during the Nazi years. They started out as Hitler Jugend, Thank goodness they saw the light and created the “White Rose.” Germans created the anti-Nazi resistance movement on the University of Munich campus. What a concept being fanatical and on the right side of history no matter that it still led to their martyrdom. What hearts and minds did they win over though? Only… God knows.

During covid I bought a book I found about this brother and sister team. Knowing the end it’s one I haven’t completely finished, but if I could finish the humungous book about Dieterich Bonhoeffer I can read anything right. These kids, young adults made some big decisions and stood by them and I believe were received by Christ with open arms when they woke up in heaven.