When you were young, did you ever try to fly and instead you flopped? I think we have all been there, however we didn’t just decide to fly all at once; we prepared ourselves. We found our favourite blanket and tied it around our neck, ran around the house yelling “I can fly- I can fly” , and jumped off every couch and chair we could reach. Then one day you got up the nerve to climb on top of the kitchen counter when dad was not looking. You stood there, heart racing, thinking “I can do it… it’s not that scary!” Then you jump. The moment your feet lift off from the counter, you see dad walk through the pantry door—shoot! But, for 2.5 seconds all you feel is pure joy as you are soar through the middle of the kitchen – pure joy, and a sense of accomplishment. Then it hits you—“I am not really flying and this could really hurt”. Then you hit the floor and roll your ankle or your head hits the refrigerator. You stop and think for a moment- “that was awesome” - then you suddenly look up to see dad towering over you as your tears start to flow.
The point I’m getting to here is that university is kind of like learning how to fly. For four years you prepare yourself, you go to classes, you go through training, you fail many times, but you are determined. I have been at Ambrose for four years now, and I still feel like I am learning. As much as I just want to start flying, I love the community so much that I am scared to jump. The past four years at Ambrose has played a huge part in molding me into the person Christ is designing me to be. He has placed a calling on my life to serve Him and to teach children about Him no matter where I am in this world.
The question is: why am I so afraid? Ambrose has challenged me, strengthened me, torn me apart, and put me back together. In fact there have been many points in my university career when I felt as if I was ready to jump and God said “not yet”. In James 1:3-4 it says “because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” God is preparing me for what is to come. My next and final step in my education is my internship. Internship is the kitchen counter for me. It is the time when God says “jump”. It is when you take all that you have learned and practiced and take the leap. This is the time where it is okay to fail, it is okay to hit the floor hard because God is there to catch you. Internship is not only an opportunity to jump and possibly hit the ground, it is an opportunity to soar for more than just 2.5 seconds. Internship allows you to really learn to fly. It teaches us how to learn from our mistakes, how to let others teach you, and how to watch and learn. I encourage anyone who is thinking about going into the Bachelor of Theology and taking an internship to really learn to fly. Learn all the little lessons through university, and do not think anything you do is pointless because everything you do here at Ambrose prepares you to fly.