This weekend while Rowland and I were in Chicago for Nathan and Nicole Wiens’ wedding, we spent a few hours on Friday at my old college, Wheaton College. Everything was just as I remembered it. It is a beautiful campus that was founded in 1860, I believe. We toured the Billy Graham Center Museum, which was definitely worth the time. The thing that struck me as I was walking through the museum is that the believers who came before us didn’t wait for people to come into their churches to tell them about Christ. They were out in the streets, in the taverns, in tents, anywhere they were able to find people. The praise song, “I’m Not Ashamed of the Gospel,” goes through my mind. It’s pretty easy for me to walk up to visitors at church and make them feel welcome. I’m pretty good at sharing my faith with those who seem interested. Billy Graham was quoted as saying (and I’m Kitty-phrasing this) that he is not concerned about the countries whose doors are closed to the Gospel. God will, in His time, open those doors. He is much more concerned with those open doors that we don’t walk through. Am I ashamed of the Gospel? I hope not, but I also don’t think that I have nearly the courage of my forefathers. It was a great challenge to me.

While on campus, we also visited my old dorm. I had totally forgotten that I lived in Smith Hall. I still live in Smith Hall!!! I peeked in the windows, and the lobby looked the same. The rooms were old and had not changed much either. A man walking out of the dorm said, “That’s Wheaton. It really doesn’t change.” It’s amazing to me that people are still living in those same dorms, eating at the same dining hall, going to chapel four days a week in the same seats I sat in. Lots of memories flashed through my mind. Twenty-two years ago!! Hmmm…..

Rowland also drove us into downtown Wheaton, which is a typical small town downtown. We ate lunch at a restaurant along the railroad tracks, then went for ice cream at an ice cream parlor I used to visit. It hadn’t changed either. It was just as I remembered it. As we drove out of the downtown area, we were looking around us and looked up to discover that we were in the middle of the railroad tracks with the lights flashing and the gate coming down! Before we knew it, the gate had landed on top of our rental car!! There we were stuck in the middle of the railroad tracks with the gate on top of our car! I won’t write the words that came out of our mouths, but you can imagine! Rowland decided the only way to keep from getting run over by the train was to back up - with the guard rail on the car! Oops!!! There was a “slight” scratch on the roof, but it was not nearly as bad as we anticipated. We laughed and laughed and then noticed that, to our surprise, no one around us seemed to even notice what had happened! That rental car may never be the same!!!

So much for memory lane….It was a nice place to visit, but I wouldn’t want to go back! I didn’t particularly like it then, and my feelings haven’t changed too much!!