Caleb's first college paper

Caleb shared with me his first assignment at college and I liked it so much I asked him if I could publish it on my blog. He so kindly agreed. 

What I love about this is how transparent he is with his journey to discern how and where he might spend the next few years of his life. I appreciated his sensitivity to listen to others and give himself to prayer in the decision. 

I think many will be blessed by getting an inside peek into his thought process.

Thank you for letting me share this, Caleb!!

Caleb Logan

Prof. Davis

August 18, 2021

COR 100

Why Covenant?

Many things led to my decision to choose Covenant College. Beginning with the decision to take a gap year. My gap year program took place at a camp in Wisconsin. The  camp, called Expeditions Unlimited, was an adventure camp. The year began with a three-week canoe trip in The Boundary Waters, where I gained a deep appreciation for nature and solitude. Later in the year, we were given a book to read, titled Finding God’s Will for my Life. This book helped me recognize that my initial aversion to college, though not wrong per se, was a decision that I had not prayed about seriously or presented to God. From this book and other experiences I had during the year, I began to understand that I needed to evaluate my life based on God’s will, not my own. So I prayed about College and felt God leading me to apply, and I reasoned that the application process would create an environment where God could reveal his will to me more directly. 

I found this process enlightening, especially towards the end, regarding the decision. I went back and forth, wrestling with the various factors that complicate such an important decision. A significant factor I wrestled with was investment. This factor created the initial aversion I had to college in the first place. I had received a job offer doing HVAC, electrical, and plumbing, from my next door neighbor who I had been working for for some time. I had no desire to pursue college solely for a high-paying career, I always thought the pursuit of college ought to deepen my mind, experience, and soul. I was surprised to find that the plumbers who worked for my neighbor made more than many teachers and pastors (jobs that my intended college education interests led to). I was distracted by the fact that those without a college degree were making more than those with the majors I was interested in. This distraction became the reasoning I used to argue that I shouldn’t pursue college. I had to wrestle with this objection: Why would I spend four years spending money, when I could be spending those making money and getting a financial head start in life?

Once again my time during the gap year was tremendously helpful. I had a chance to reevaluate my values and priorities. I became aware of the values which were misplaced. I valued the reasoning God gave me, more than God himself and the wisdom that he provides to those that ask it of him (James 1:5). From this point on, I began prioritizing the insight of strong Christians that I knew, over conclusions I had come to by myself; I asked them for advice, while praying for God’s wisdom in their responses. I also recall wrestling with the pressure to pick college to avoid “scandal”. From fourth grade to senior year of high school, I attended a liberal arts Christian classical private school, right across the street from Wheaton College. So I am familiar with the pressure to make education a performance. Even in High School, I felt that my classmates resented the education, due to apparent parental pressure to perform. I felt the book was describing my education up to this point when it said: “these students may even come to resent the expectation, treating a great blessing as some kind of curse” (Davis 21). I knew my education was a blessing, I was only able to attend due to a generous scholarship I never deserved. So I approached college in the same way, knowing that the only way I could attend Covenant if it were the will of God’s grace, a blessing beyond my understanding. 

I felt drawn to Covenant more than the other colleges, for its location, education, and intentional culture formed on the philosophy that was confirmed for me in In All Things Christ Preeminent. I have a great amount of respect for those who identify and admit flaws, prioritizing truth over the optics of success. For example, “The Bible is not like any other book we possess. Every other book has errors in it, either from ignorance, limited perspective, or malicious deception” (56). Not only does the author admit that the text he is writing contains errors, but also explains what caused it: ignorance, limited perspective or even malicious deception. Therefore, the author attributes at least one of these vices to himself. On that note, I personally checked to see if this statement was true or mere sentiment. The assertment was true, confirmed by two errors. Ironically the first quote states, “ It they do it well, they will be ignored. If they do a lousy job and we notice, we might be disgusted with them, but we won't feel it as a reflection on the rest of us” (75). Not lousy, but I noticed and I'm not disgusted. I personally thought it was done well, but that didn't make me ignore it, it made me appreciate it. The second states, “We should rejoice when we hear of what God is going” (100). There's a lot of things that make me happy, but nothing compares to the joy I experience when I see the connection of this world to my God and his will. 

During my admissions process for Covenant, I experienced God connecting to this world I live in. First I received a generous scholarship to attend Covenant College. There is no way I would be able to attend Covenant College paying full tuition, and I saw God provide for me in this way. I was still concerned about the initial investment for my first semester of college. I personally didn't have enough savings to cover a semester. My grandma however had created College saving funds for her eight grandchildren, including myself, and those savings completely covered my first semester and most of the next one, removing all stress and anxiety about financial investment from my shoulders for the first year of college. I was also encouraged when I appealed for further financial aid, I put that completely in God's hands knowing that I'd already been given so much. However, I know the success of my appeal had nothing to do with me nor those I wrote to. Further financial aid is a good gift, therefore it must be from God, as it says in James 1:17 “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above coming down from the Father of Lights with him there is no variation or Shadow due to change.” 

I also see God when I see truth, and In All Things Christ Preeminent, I was encouraged to find bold, painful, and enlightening truth, God’s Truth. “Adam and Eve were real people, and they rebelled against God on purpose... they did not make a simple mistake. They knew they were rebelling against God. They chose to trust their own understanding rather than God's commands... all Humanity fell with them, and since we're all humans, ourselves included, have found it somewhat “natural” to love and trust ourselves most of all” (40). “We are miserable, twisted shells of what God made us to be" (43). Why Covenant now? Because I trust God's direction more than independent thought and rationale. This year is in God’s hand, I can't wait to see where he leads me next!

Works Cited

Davis, Bill, In All Things Christ Preeminent (Covenant College, 2014)