By Teresa Buschur

Everyday Faith

 

“I grew up in a church where reading the Bible wasn’t a common thing. Taking your Bible to church was also not common. Scripture was always read to me, and I learned to be a good listener. However, one thing I didn’t learn from just listening was that it was possible to read Scripture myself.

 

“This past summer a friend asked me if I read the Bible. I told him that I didn’t. Then I began to explain my two reasons why I didn’t read the Scriptures. First, I never knew where to start reading; and second, I was afraid I wouldn’t understand what I had read. When my friend heard this, he told me that I shouldn’t be afraid and that I should start with reading the gospel of John. As I read the first two or three chapters, I realized that I knew these stories. I had heard them in church and other Bible studies I’d been to. For the first time, I wasn’t afraid to read the Bible.

 

 

“The summer ended, and I moved to Rochester to start school at Oakland University. It was my first year as a graduate student in another state. I was very excited to begin my life in Rochester. Right away after arriving at Oakland, I was told about InterVarsity and decided to check it out.

 

 

“I will never forget the first meeting of InterVarsity this past fall. A man who everyone called Bali was the speaker that night. He began talking about how all of us have emotional baggage that we need to get rid of by giving it to the Lord. As I sat in my chair hearing the words of Bali, I began to think that the Lord was trying to tell me something. Bali’s words didn’t change me that night, but I kept thinking about his message during the rest of the week.

 

 

“On Wednesday night before the next InterVarsity meeting, I began to cry as I read in Scripture, Galatians 2:20, where Paul talks about being crucified with Christ. For the first time, my eyes were truly open and the Words of God spoke to me. I realized that I could have a relationship with Christ and that in order to do that I had to let go. I began to pray, ‘Lord, I want to let go’ over and over. The next thing I knew, I had this enormous amount of peace come over me. I felt so close to God at that moment.

 

 

“Since then, I’ve been reading Scripture more than ever. I begin my day in quiet time. And it is amazing how, by spending time with God daily, I can still get everything done I need to. And I feel more calm about stresses in my life. By reading Scripture, I think of God more often throughout my day. Scripture is one of the greatest ways of building a relationship with God.”

 

 

Marci participates in an InterVarsity small group Bible study where she continues to have conversations with God. Marci also is a member of her InterVarsity chapter’s Worship team at Oakland University. Through InterVarsity’s Bible studies, students like Marci around the country are learning about the gospel of Christ.