miss the amazing community that is built at the Word of Life and Davis College campus, along with the uniqueness of the campus. However, once I got into a rhythm of working at the church and doing school it has been beneficial and enjoyable. Even though I am online, I feel like I am a part of Davis College from the interactions with people on discussion boards. Along with this, I love seeing how the Lord is working in my friends who are on campus at Davis College. I still know many of the people who are there and when I get to talk to them it makes me excited to know I am a part of the same organization. While there are times that it is hard to remember that I am the same as the other Davis College students, it is cool to see the Lord work in the lives of others, whether on campus or online!”
Student Athlete Feature
Daniel Bubar “’Hills don’t go away, they wait.’ This quote summarizes an inescapable truth. Whether it’s a cross-country race or the race of life, you will be presented with challenges and adversity. There are no shortcuts, no turning back, you must face the hills that come your way. This was the case at the beginning of this year’s cross-country season in Randolph Vermont. The hills were relentless, one after another they came up on the course, and towards the end I was exhausted. It was a struggle to regain the momentum I lost, and my body longed for this to end, but I was still in a race. With burning lungs and weakened legs, I pressed on to fight to finish well with the goal of beating my old time in mind. As I closed in on the finishing stretch, I could hear the voice of my teammates and coaches calling out to pick up the pace, ‘Don’t wait! Start kicking! Don’t let that guy catch you!’ The thought of running even harder at this stage was dreadful, but I chose to put the body into submission and start kicking to the end with about 400 meters to go. I could feel the physical strain with each stride, but eventually I crossed the line, I reached my goal to beat my old time on this course, and quickly the memory of the pain began to fade from the forefront of my mind in light of this accomplishment. The disciplines of preparation and pushing past comfort zone in the sport of distance running is essential to achieving you race goals, but what I love the most about these disciplines is that they translate so well into the Christian life. In Hebrews 12:1-2, the author uses the setting of a race as an illustration for the race of life. We are surrounded by witnesses, who are those who
came before us. Like runners, we lay aside the sin and weight that hinders us. And like a race, we strive forward in life on the path God has prepared for us. And much like with the goal of victory, we look toward Jesus as our goal by following him. Living in this way requires the same disciplines that a distance runner has, we need to prepare to live a life as a disciple of Jesus and serving for his kingdom. It’s for this reason that I am grateful to participate on Word of Life’s cross-country team this fall. As I am putting disciplines into practice in an athletic context, I can carry over the same principles in my own walk with the Lord. Not only that but being a member of this team has allowed me to participate in ministry to other teams we compete against. It is no secret to our competitors that our school is religious, so our conduct matters. As a team we have been able to show them the love of Christ in our conduct and conversations, and I have seen God present opportunities to us to share the gospel to those who desperately need to hear about the hope we found. Many people we come across have no church background, and if they do it’s usually a tradition they adopted from their family and nothing more. It is a blessing to testify to the love of God and the everlasting hope found through faith in Jesus through a sport that I find meaningful.”
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