Fratt
My sophomore year of college, I took a world civ class. The college I was attending was really tiny, world civ was a gen ed requirement, and I think there were only two options for professors. So, of course I did what any other super motivated college student does, I picked the prof that fit best in my schedule.
Dr. Fratt was the professor I ended up with. Fratt was a man with a passion for history. Not only did he regularly participate in civil war reenactments (straight out of Sweet Home Alabama) but he believed that every Christian should. We never really got around to the "why" of that belief.
Dr. Fratt's class was challenging, not impossible-- but you definitely had to pay attention and take good notes in order to pass his tests. So, of course, this was the class that I day dreamed in the most.
What I day dreamed about was planting an orphanage. In my memory, this happened every class, that I would plan out my scheming for an orphanage. In reality, it probably only happened a couple of times and the rest of the spacing out was because of my short term addiction to Sudoku. I had a notebook that I wrote all of these plans in. It started out as just an orphanage, where kids who had never felt love would receive love. My passion was to feed the fatherless and I couldn't think of a better way to do that-- and while doing it, show them who their father is. It grew as I dreamed about it. I thought there could be a school attached to the orphanage so that we'd have a practical way of providing education-- and that education could be one of the tangible assets we provided a country with. Then I thought after the kids finished how ever long the school was, that we could do practical skills training. This way, it would be bringing hope and really contributing something. I made lists of people I know that are ministry minded who are teachers, and doctors or becoming teachers and doctors. These lists were people I could potentially go after to abandon their salaried jobs and come with me. I thought that we'd have to also start some kind of business-- and sheep farming is what's in my mind now.... though I don't now if that's what I thought or that's just something I've heard since then.
Somehow, it was a dream that felt really near at the time, and now couldn't feel further away. I really still want that. I have a really hard time when Christians say that they're really excited about something... BUT of course give the disclaimer of.... "but Im willing to do whatever God has for me." I don't hate it because its not true, its absolutely true. I hate it because it negates the fact that we have these passions for a reason-- and I'd like to think that God is that reason most of the time. So until God changes my heart, and speaks otherwise to me and Brian--- I'm so excited to do this. It's something that actually hurts sometimes when I'm really feeing passionate about it, because I know its still such a long way off.
Dr. Fratt gave me a D in that class, which meant it couldn't count when I became a history minor. The lessons we learn.....
Dr. Fratt was the professor I ended up with. Fratt was a man with a passion for history. Not only did he regularly participate in civil war reenactments (straight out of Sweet Home Alabama) but he believed that every Christian should. We never really got around to the "why" of that belief.
Dr. Fratt's class was challenging, not impossible-- but you definitely had to pay attention and take good notes in order to pass his tests. So, of course, this was the class that I day dreamed in the most.
What I day dreamed about was planting an orphanage. In my memory, this happened every class, that I would plan out my scheming for an orphanage. In reality, it probably only happened a couple of times and the rest of the spacing out was because of my short term addiction to Sudoku. I had a notebook that I wrote all of these plans in. It started out as just an orphanage, where kids who had never felt love would receive love. My passion was to feed the fatherless and I couldn't think of a better way to do that-- and while doing it, show them who their father is. It grew as I dreamed about it. I thought there could be a school attached to the orphanage so that we'd have a practical way of providing education-- and that education could be one of the tangible assets we provided a country with. Then I thought after the kids finished how ever long the school was, that we could do practical skills training. This way, it would be bringing hope and really contributing something. I made lists of people I know that are ministry minded who are teachers, and doctors or becoming teachers and doctors. These lists were people I could potentially go after to abandon their salaried jobs and come with me. I thought that we'd have to also start some kind of business-- and sheep farming is what's in my mind now.... though I don't now if that's what I thought or that's just something I've heard since then.
Somehow, it was a dream that felt really near at the time, and now couldn't feel further away. I really still want that. I have a really hard time when Christians say that they're really excited about something... BUT of course give the disclaimer of.... "but Im willing to do whatever God has for me." I don't hate it because its not true, its absolutely true. I hate it because it negates the fact that we have these passions for a reason-- and I'd like to think that God is that reason most of the time. So until God changes my heart, and speaks otherwise to me and Brian--- I'm so excited to do this. It's something that actually hurts sometimes when I'm really feeing passionate about it, because I know its still such a long way off.
Dr. Fratt gave me a D in that class, which meant it couldn't count when I became a history minor. The lessons we learn.....
Comments
I long with you for that day.