Letter from the Editors “Come, all you who are thirsty, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.” Isaiah 55:1 (NIV) Upon my acceptance into Williams, I believed I had reached the pinnacle of God’s favor in my life. Four years at a top school, immersed in the highest concentration of brilliance to which I had ever been exposed – how could I ask for more? The future looked bright before me, and each day felt like I was taking one step closer to uncovering God’s plan for my life. Now in my third year, I can say sincerely that I have made some of my finest memories here at Williams. But to think that my best days are confined to my Williams experience is to narrow the margin of the grace and provision God bestows upon those who love Him. One of my favorite stories about Jesus is when he stays over at Simon Peter’s house after he heals the demon possessed man in the synagogue. After sunset, people gather outside of Peter’s back door hoping Jesus will heal them. When I read this, I am amazed at how many people show up. The story says that “the whole town gathered at the door.” Everyone comes. Everyone has a disease that they need healing for, everyone has a demon that they wish they could cast away. And the amazing thing is, that until Jesus came, the people just lived their lives. They never sought after healing because they never believed that it could happen. But as soon as Jesus heals one person, everyone starts to pay attention. They see the alternative to their broken and compromised lives and they desire it. We enter Williams as students set apart for our talent and promise. We’re told that our liberal arts education will provide us the knowledge and skills necessary to enact meaningful change in the world. Valiantly, we commit ourselves to an array of global causes – economic equality, environmental justice, social uplift. However, in the course of our studies, we may come to discover that our efforts to implement systemic change are ultimately inadequate: as our knowledge of the world around us increases, we see how overwhelmingly vast the disparities of our world really are. Moreover, in light of the world’s brokenness, we find that we ourselves are broken, debilitated by fear or mental illness or damaged relationships. All too easily we accept this brokenness as reality. Frustrated by the continued inconsistency between what we hope for and what we find in our own lives, we choose to rationalize brokenness, explaining it away until it feels normal, and continue on with our lives. Everyone does this. And Jesus comes not to shame us for our error, but to show us that the healing we seek, both for ourselves and the world, is real and attainable. In this issue, our writers and artists share their stories of receiving God’s invitation to healing. Raquel Rodriguez discusses the loss of her cousin and the unexpected ways in which God met her in the midst of grief. During an interview at the Northern Berkshire Pregnancy Support Center (NBPSC), Bianca Brown uncovers stories of pain transformed into hope and new life. Dylan Griswold shares how a physical injury led him to receive God’s gracious gift of love. Healing is not an abstract ideal that we attain through hard work and diligent study. But rather, a gift that Jesus offers to us without cost. Jesus simply says, “Be healed.” So, in the words of the prophet, come, buy, eat, and enjoy the good things of God. Grace and Peace Be Yours, Jasmyne and Wyatt Fall 2013
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