Tonight is kindergarten graduation at the Christian school where my husband is the principal—that annual affair where little tiny people wearing little tiny caps and gowns parade across the stage to shake his hand and receive little tiny diplomas. After receiving their token of mastering all things A, B, C, and 1, 2, 3, the students march proudly to the center of the stage while the kindergarten teacher reads aloud their hopes and dreams, including, of course, their future occupations.
(In case you’re wondering, we old folks are going to have a hard time finding medical care or a mechanic in about twenty-five years. They’re all going to be veterinarians.)
When I think back to what I wanted to be when I was in kindergarten, I thought it would be great fun to operate the cash register at the grocery store. Like most children, I didn’t put much serious thought into what I wanted to be when I grew up.
A Missionary for God
Not so for Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth. A framed letter in a child’s wobbling handwriting sits atop her piano—one she wrote to her parents at the tender age of seven to notify them that she was going to be a missionary for God. “I shall do this for Jesus only and for Him only shall I do this,” young Nancy wrote.
And she did.
All month long here at Revive Our Hearts, we’ve been celebrating women who made an impact on their world for Christ. We think that description fits Nancy to a tee. It turns out that we’re not alone. Just a little over a week ago, Nancy was presented a Doctorate of Humane Letters, honoris causa, from Taylor University, a Christian liberal arts university in Upland, Indiana. The school is the alma mater of several generations of the Wolgemuth family, including Nancy’s husband, Robert.
Here’s what Nancy said upon finding out she would be receiving the honorary degree:
What a joy it has been to be a part of the Wolgemuth family, since Robert and I married in 2015. And now what a privilege it is to be honored in this way by the school that has meant so much to this family for (thus far!) four generations. In a day when our world is in such distress and truth has fallen prey to every conceivable "ism" and adversary, I am grateful for Taylor's commitment to the timely, timeless, unchanging, life-giving, glory-filled Word of God.
At the commencement ceremony, she took the opportunity to encourage Taylor’s graduating class, saying,
I want to urge you to treasure your Bible, to read it, to study it, to memorize it, to marinate in it, to master it, and to let it master you.
His Word is true; it is pure; it is beautiful and good. It will guide you; it will give you strength and hope and comfort and purpose and peace. It will help you overcome evil and it will protect you from sin. It will satisfy you deeply, if you let it. It will bring you life and blessing and joy. And it will point you to Jesus—the living Word of God.
Whatever your future plans may be, I pray you will become a man or a woman of the Word, that you will learn to love this Book, that it will transform you and transform others through you.So, I implore you: read God’s Word. Turn to it first, not last. Read it when you feel like it; read it when you don’t feel like it. Purpose to read it and soak in it every day of your life."
What’s remarkable about Nancy’s message is not that it was delivered on a stage in front of thousands of people with the seal of Taylor University in the foreground and the flags of the United States and many other nations in the back. Nor is it remarkable because it was given on the occasion of receiving an honorary doctorate. What’s remarkable about the message Nancy gave is that it’s the same message she gives to countless women every single day on the radio and through podcasts . . . it’s the same message she’s written in more than twenty books read by women all over the world. And it’s the same message she lives out every day in her work, in her relationships, and in her marriage to Robert.
I don’t know about you, but that seems pretty (un)remarkable to me. Now that I think about it, when I grow up, I want to be like Nancy.
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