SecondGLANCE BY AMY BOONE
Twenty-five years later, a favorite tradition burns bright
PAUL WHITE
After enduring the often dramatic ups and downs of the logistics until a big box of candles greeted us when we high school, the constant high of ACU made my heart arrived at Welcome Week. We began second-guessing our burst with joy. From the first day of Welcome Week until idea when we saw heavy rain forecast for Tuesday night. graduation in May 1992, my eyes were opened to God’s We did not have a Plan B. work in my own heart and the lives of my friends. Just before sunset, we prayed under the nearby World ACU provided endless opportunities to worship, Missions Globe, asking God to delay the rain and rescue grow and connect with other students. One was the us from our lack of planning. He agreed, and the first beloved Tuesday Night Devos on the front steps of Candlelight Devo lit up the amphitheatre with light, Hardin Administration Building. It Only Takes a Spark hope and dreams in the eyes of a new freshman class. was one of the favorite songs of that era. Our general lack of attention to detail also did not The irony of that foreshadowing makes me smile. account for the fact that when candles melt, wax drips. The spring of my junior year, the We were so elated with the beauty Welcome Week steering committee and glory of the night that we did not selected Chris Seidman (’92) and me notice the amphitheatre steps were to plan the spiritual life portion of covered with globs of stiff white wax. the event for Fall 1991. Knowing our The College of Biblical Studies faculty history together made that a logical and staff took great pride in upkeep of yet comical choice. Our own Welcome their still-like-new building, and dean Week friendship had hilariously Dr. Ian Fair (’68) and his assistant, culminated with Chris greeting me Martha Renfro, were not amused. in the campus mall with a swift body Chris and I blissfully basked the Candlelight Devo in slam, causing me to tumble through next morning in the afterglow of the Beauchamp Amphitheatre the grass as he cackled hysterically. event as Welcome Week chairs Mike He and my then-fiancé, Grant Boone Shanks (’92) and Trish Savage (’92) (’91) were the best of friends and their daily interaction were tasked with scraping the wax from some 900 candles consisted of a barrage of inside jokes, laughing until they off the concrete steps. It was no small job. Honestly, no one cried, and some deep spiritual conversation sprinkled told us this until years later, and I am still apologizing. in for good measure. I moved away after graduation and the devo became a Chris and I had been a part of the writing and distant memory until about 10 years later, when someone implementing of Wednesday night Bible Studies told me about the “awesome tradition of the Welcome spearheaded by Reg Cox (’84) and Brad Small (’84) that Week Candlelight Devo!” I smiled, not understanding how were such a big part of campus life at the time. Tuesday ingrained this unlikely event had become in the fabric Night Devos, a staple of ACU student spiritual life since of the university. Still others told me it was one of their the 1930s, had been moved to the steps of Beauchamp favorite ACU memories. No way, I thought. I was wrong. Amphitheatre, which was then only a couple of years A few years ago, faculty, staff and alumni were old. The newness of the Onstead-Packer Biblical Studies invited to attend, lining the sidewalk from Moody to Building with its Chapel on the Hill, peaceful Quiet Place the amphitheatre, singing and reciting Scripture as new and symbolic Tower of Light made the amphitheatre a freshmen walked by. Another such devo has been added no-brainer venue for introducing freshmen to ACU. The for graduating seniors, a fine bookend to their time on the Welcome Week steering committee had the idea that we Hill. This fall, one took place at Homecoming for alumni. would have a huge Tuesday Night Devo during Welcome Last year, the event at Wildcat Week (Welcome Week’s Week to encourage freshmen to attend when school new name) held new meaning as I watched my own child started the next week. walk down that same sidewalk with his candle. His eyes An inscription at the base of the tower, at the foot of were full of wonder, anticipation, hope and a little bit of the amphitheatre, features John 8:12’s “light of the world” fear. Mine were full of tears. language, so Chris and I wondered if candles might be a The 25th official Candlelight Devo takes place Aug. 22, nice addition to the Welcome Week devo. The idea was 2017. Time goes by so quickly, and I smile at the thought. approved, and candles were ordered. Because the two of us Some big things have inauspicious beginnings. Sometimes were not particularly organized, we did not think much of a big idea truly only takes a spark. May it ever be so.
80
Winter-Spring 2017
ACU TODAY