ELEANOR LEE ’23

CALVIN CENTER FOR FAITH & WRITING SENIOR STUDENT FELLOW, MAJORING IN COMPUTER SCIENCE AND WRITING

Then And Now

I came to Calvin as a first-year student in 2019. Since then, Calvin’s community has challenged me to prioritize listening—to God and to people around me—and to reflect on what I hear.

In high school, I was a relentless overachiever, mostly because “success” gave me a sense of purpose. But Calvin’s routines encouraged me to “be still”—from solo time on wilderness orientation, to meditative Thursday Chapels, to Pastor Mary’s reminders that God’s success looks very different from ours. I found that, surprisingly, life felt more successful when I sat still.

Stillness—surrendering my plans of busyness and productivity—helped me connect more deeply with God and with others.

Nurturing Stillness And Peace In A Chaotic World

American culture encourages us to avoid being still. Always, we’re working, scrolling, typing, and judging. But I found that being still and knowing God; knowing this beautiful, chaotic world; knowing God’s love reflected in professors and friends, left me with no quick judgments about “right” theology, policies, or choices. Instead, it left me with empathy for my thoughtful, faithful fellow Knights: people who seek their Creator wholeheartedly, even when they arrive at different conclusions.

This honest, diverse spiritual fruit is one of the things I love most about Calvin. At Calvin, the norm isn’t to lock your faith away out of fear, shame, or apathy. Rather, it’s to share your faith. To examine it (and, sometimes, to change it). To carry it into the most pressing issues of our day.

I thank God for the friendships, questions, and holy stillness I’ve been led to at Calvin. And I encourage all my fellow Calvin students— past, present, and future—to be still and know. Know just how good God is, and just how tightly grace holds us all together.

WHAT’S [Y]OUR CALVIN STORY?

We’d love to hear from you! In one hundred words or fewer, tell us about a Calvin experience that meaningfully impacted you. We’ll curate and publish a selection of stories in the fall issue. To be considered, send your story with your full name and graduation year to alumni@calvin.edu by June 1, 2023. Include “My Calvin story” in the subject line.