When I felt God’s call to youth ministry, I knew that I would do whatever it took to get equipped. Low and behold, I ended up in the “great state” of Oklahoma. Nothing against Oklahoma or Oklahomans – it just wasn’t for me. I’m a Florida boy. I love the beach, the hot sun, the seabreeze, the afternoon thunderstorms, saltwater fishing, and my Florida Gators. None of those things are found in Oklahoma (maybe the hot sun)! But against my beach-bum logic, I packed up my truck and embarked on finishing a Bible degree at Oklahoma Christian University….better known as OC (one redeeming quality is that OC was in Oklahoma City, so it wasn’t all bad).
The transition to the “Bible Belt” wasn’t all that bad. By far, the worst part of the 2 years I spent there was the ice and snow. In the winter of 2007, we got so much ice that they actually cancelled classes for the first time in school history. The power went out for about 3 days, and we had to reschedule final exams. It was cold and horrible!! Oh yeah, also, for some reason when I moved from FL to “The OC”, I thought a few hoodies would suffice to keep me warm. : | The ice covered the ground and my truck. Me and my roommate were stuck in our apartment, and I survived off of Cheez-Nips, Fruit Snacks and orange Gatorade…..ya- not gonna get a lot of surf fishing done in that mess.
Now that you know one of the worst parts of my college experience, let me share with you one of the best. Like I said, I only spent my last 2 years at OC. I came there with a completed A.A. Degree from community college. Although I was half done, there was one class that OC required me to take: Turning Points in U.S. History. Needless to say, I wasn’t too thrilled. I came here to learn how to change lives, be the world’s best youth minister, memorize the entire Bible, and all the other things that Junior Youth Ministry majors aspire to do, NOT to learn about history.
So I show up for class on Monday with my $129 textbook and a notebook. It’s 12:35 and the teacher is late. The entire class (mostly freshmen) is awkwardly sitting, waiting for the professor to get here and teach. Being the studious learner that I was, I sat in the back row. The door opens. A man in a wheelchair enters the classroom and in the most booming, “James Earl Jones”-esque voice I’ve ever heard, says “CLAAAASSSS….I’m Dr. John Thompson. Take out a sheet of paper, and we’ll begin shortly.” The classroom was your typical college lecture auditorium, but it had no wheelchair lift for Dr. Thompson to get down to the podium. He had no feet due to surgery he’d had a year or so earlier for medical complications, but he got out of his wheelchair and crawled down the stairs to the front of the class. This was the first thing I remember about Dr. John Thompson.
The next time we met for class, I asked him what kind of music he liked. He was a big fan of “Chicago”, just like me, so I burned him a copy of their greatest hits CD. Eventually, we would talk for a while after class got out. This guy was brilliant – he wasn’t just passionate about history, but he was passionate about investing in the lives of students. After a month or so, me and my buddies Mark and Jared decided that we wanted to pick his brain about life, faith, and history, so we invited him to his favorite restaurant, The Delta Cafe. Dr. Thompson shared his life with us over chicken sandwiches. He had been in and out of the hospital with unfortunate health issues. He was so passionate about his students and history that when he would be in the hospital, he would teach from his hospital bed through a phone system that would be at the front of our classroom! When the end of the semester neared, I took my final and went home to FL. It was a great semester, and Dr. Thompson was a big part of it.
I saw a lot of Dr. Thompson over that next year. I had a lot of classes in the Liberal Arts building where his office was, so sometimes I would stop in and see how his week was going. Every few weeks though, he would be admitted to the hospital. He had kidney problems and other serious health issues. One day, I found out that the night before, he randomly woke up from his sleep and just knew something wasn’t right. He had a headache, and he immediately woke up his wife and kids and got them out of the house. There was a carbon monoxide leak in his house, and he had saved his family, although it meant a day in the hospital for all of them. But he always had the warmest smile on his face and genuinely cared about how each student was doing.
I’ll never forget this. It was a Thursday in December, and finals were just around the corner. I saw Dr. Thompson after my Psych class got out, and I talked to him for a bit. I asked him how he was doing, and when we were gonna go to Delta Cafe again. He told me he was blessed and that we’d have to get together either over finals week, or next semester. I shook his hand and told him that would be great, and to have a great Christmas break if we didn’t see each other before then. He told me to have fun in FL and we shook hands and parted ways. The next morning, Dr. John Thompson passed away. This friend and mentor of mine was gone. One of OC’s kindest, award winning, most well-respected teachers had left this life for a better one in heaven.
I tell you this because if there was ever a person on this earth who had the right to be angry at his circumstances- who had the right to be upset with God- it was Dr. Thompson. But NEVER ONCE did he ever complain or resent his situation. I’ve been known to complain when I don’t get enough Sweet Onion sauce on my $5 Footlong, when an icestorm cancels my flight home to FL, or when the Gators lose a meaningless football game. He wasn’t bitter, he used his circumstances to bring glory to God. It makes me think, “Do I really know how to praise God in the storms of life? Do I give God glory in spite of all the stuff that happens in my life?”
“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors.” James 1:2-3 The Message
I will confess that I don’t always consider it a gift when “stuff” happens in my life. How do we respond after the loss of a loved one? Praise Him in the Storm After relationships crumble? Praise Him in the Storm After unforseen things happen that bring pain, uncertainty, or tragedy? Praise Him in the Storm Do we praise God throughout the storms of life? It’s easy to give God the glory and praise when life is good. I guarantee you it’s not easy to praise God when life is bad. It’s hard. It hurts. It takes time to heal. But God is big enough to take that pain from you, heal you, and make you whole.
I am challenging both you and I to praise Him in the storm. When things get tough in your life, remember this verse from Job: ”The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” God is good all the time, and all the time God is good.
Whether life is good or bad, consider it a gift and praise Him. Blessed be the name of the Lord.
Dr. John Thompson