Life's sinuous courses travel in unexpected ways. We travel on them even less predictably. However, we come at times to decision points, and we must in our ignorance and dire necessity make a choice. We look, evaluate, pray, compare, guess, and bumble our way through, and it is only the grace of God that keeps us in the right direction. But in my observing, tallying, beseeching, contrasting, grasping, and stumbling, I see (as far as any human can see) that Patrick Henry College may be God's will for my life this Fall. If it truly is, I will be delighted, for the training provided by Patrick Henry most closely matches my feeble guesses of what I would like to get out of my undergraduate experience.
I do not have any massive vendetta or quest. At the same time, I do. I have committed my life to obeying God in Spirit and in Truth, a task that cannot be taken up lightly, but one that is not traditionally considered by Western Civilization to be particularly brilliant or rewarding. Were I to follow the persuasive whispers of fame or the seductive calls of materialism, I could perhaps be one of the privileged few to realize futility by experience. At the same time, nothing is sure, and even if some unimaginable combination of luck, pluck, stupidity, brilliance, and coincidence were to fall my way, I could at best (if at last I started thinking correctly again) rue the day I set upon such life courses.
Living a life that obeys God in Spirit and in Truth by definition is predicated by a certain level of attaining Spirit and Truth. In some senses, the Spirit is easy, and the Truth is hard. In others, the Truth is easy, but the Spirit is terribly difficult. But both are necessary. Each can exist with a weak counterpart, but neither can increase without the other. This is why my aim is to engage upon a discovery of Truth with the entire ardor and persistence of my developing Spiritual life. Conversely, I intend to direct my Spiritual life by the Truth I find.
Others' aid is useful in any journey, and certainly so in life's most important one. For my attempt to live a life worshiping God in Spirit and in Truth, both God and other Christians minister and augment my development. But the area most sorely lacking is the understanding of Truth. Though many times I (sadly) ignore the truth that I do have, my ignorance of truth trips me too often. I find myself grasping for truth, then finding it too late except for future reference.
Why would I permit myself to even think of spending four years studying non-religious topics? Because I am lazy, and because I intend to actively perform II Timothy 1:12 to 2:7. Though I have indeed worked hard over the years at academics, and though I have a functioning brain, personal flogging can only go so far. This is where other people, including organizations like Patrick Henry come in. My goal and responsibility as one who would worship in Spirit and in Truth comes to this: learn truth, live truth, train further perpetuators of truth, and endure difficulty for this cause when necessary. This will be my public service. If I am to become a good soldier-farmer-teacher, I must prepare while I can so I am capable of performing my duties, responsibilities, and goals excellently at all times. Intense study can and should prepare for intensely truth-based living, and I must train my mind and habits for this life.
I do not want to go to Patrick Henry to change the world. I do not want to chain a God-hating culture to a mold they absolutely cannot fit. But I see that Patrick Henry College wants to train excellent students to have excellent thinking and excellent living.
That is what I want.