John Walkup, Professor Emeritus ,
Electrical and Computer Engineering,
Texas Tech University
[March 29, 2009]— One never quite knows when God will schedule a divine appointment. This has come home to me on many occasions over the years, but never more so than late one winter afternoon near the end of my academic career.
I was packing up my briefcase in preparation for heading home when I heard a knock on my office door. I opened it to find a former student, Duane, who at first I didn’t recognize. I invited him in and could tell that he seemed hurried (slightly breathless) and a bit uneasy.
Duane said that he remembered me from his student days (15-20 years earlier), and recalled from my first day of class introduction that I was a follower of Christ. He proceeded to tell me that he had experienced some setbacks in his life that had shaken his faith and had begun to wonder if the things he had believed as a young Christian were still rock solid and could be depended upon. While he didn’t give me a lot of details on the specifics about his “setbacks,” I sensed he was disappointed that perhaps his life hadn’t turned out the way he had hoped.
The Challenges I Had Faced
Not knowing exactly what to say, I began by sharing some of the personal challenges which I had faced as a student. These included having to repeat my Ph.D. qualifying exams, a dissertation topic falling through after a year’s work, and a final switch of research areas (and two more years of study) due to some Vietnam-related campus unrest at Stanford.
Since Duane mentioned that he was a Christian, I opened my Bible and together we read several New Testament passages on the ways in which God uses trials to strengthen us spiritually. We also discussed Christ’s work for us on the cross and how to have the assurance of our salvation. Finally, I asked Duane if he would like to pray and the two of us prayed together. When we finished, I was encouraged that Duane appeared calmer.
He thanked me for taking the time to talk and pray with him. With that he left the office, and I finished packing up my briefcase. I had a strong sense as I drove the five miles home that God had arranged Duane’s visit. My wife and I talked about the visit over dinner and we thanked God for the fact that I had been there when Duane stopped by.
Visits from former students struggling with emotional and spiritual issues didn’t occur often during my career. When they did, I was glad that I had been open about identifying myself as a believer to my students.
I had prayed that those “seeds” I was sowing might someday sprout and produce some good fruit for Christ’s kingdom. When all was said and done, I believe that this was one of the reasons He had provided my faculty position in the first place.
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© 2009 John Walkup Used by permission of Faculty Commons