The Baptist Collegiate Ministries, or the BCM, on the university campus is like a home away from home for me. If I have a few minutes between classes, if a class is canceled, or if I have a break, I will 99.9% of the time be found at the BCM. The other .1% I'm actually studying at the library.
Well, today one of my classes was canceled so I zipped on over to the BCM on my 70s orange with electric blue handle bars Schwinn Varsity '73 bike.
One of many reasons I love the BCM is because of the numerous people who spend time there. We're from different backgrounds, are dispersed among different local churches, and involved in different ministries. We all have unique personalities, but are all united in the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ for the purpose of glorifying Him.
Anyway, here's what happened when I walked in today:
Tim was very happily playing some Relient K Christmas music loudly on one of the computers. As a conversation with my sister and a few others about life, tests, papers, tests, exams, tests, exhaustion, tests, unfair professors, tests, and surviving until Thanksgiving began to unfold, we all noticed a different song streaming from the computer.
Tim had indeed put the song "Butterfly Kisses" on and before we could object to request more Christmas music, he was singing each lyric loudly and off-key while Blair, who was very chipper and hyper was dancing around to it. Naturally, the rest of us laughed, rolled our eyes, and joked about it.
Mid-song, Tim found himself distracted by a rambunctious game of "Muffin Ball" at the pool table. The guys always get really enthusiastic about that game and often forget to use their "inside voices" while playing. As Tim forgot about his "Butterfly Kisses", Cassie sneakily walked over to the computer to turn off the song. Of course, Tim quickly noticed and whined about it a little, but soon got over it as he began to get frustrated with the game he had joined.
Soon, I heard laughter from the conference room (where people "study") and found a group of people laughing at some "Geography Jokes" someone else (Joseph) had written on the white board.
"I'm going to get some fried TURKEY and fries."
"Dude, are you going to eat all of that unhealthy food? Don't you know that GREECE oozes out of TURKEY?"
"YEMEN, but IRAN 3 miles this morning and IRAQUEd up some 'unhealthy food' points."
"Well, be careful man, because I'll laugh when it all goes to DJIBOUTI..."
I laughed, and moseyed on out of there to sit down on the comfy couches next to Hannah. Hannah knew of some of the struggles I'd been having and asked how I was doing. We discussed how good God is, how He remains the same, and truly encouraged each other in our faith; it's something we both really needed.
The BCM often is crazy with a whole bunch of weird people who frequent it, but when it comes down to it, we all love God. Of course, we also enjoy having fun. We're college students. What do you expect?
My conversation with Hannah drifted onward to her dramatically describing how she'd been pranked 3 times that day already, while I laughed heartily. Our friend Dana joined in and we merged into discussion about what names we like, and on towards other girlish topics. The daily antics at the BCM continued without me when I went to class, but just for a few moments, I relaxed, laughed a lot, was encouraged, and loved--the perfect remedy for a stressed out college student.
Community is important when the pressures and lies of the culture around me are constantly bombarding me. I thank God for a community such as the BCM.
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