“Dr. Ken, can I talk to you for a minute? I know that you are a Christian….”
It was the first week of classes for the spring semester, and a student I will call Alice stopped me after class. She had struggled in a previous math class of mine, and I knew her slightly. I suppose she knew I was a Christian because I mention it to my classes at the beginning of the semester.
I said, “Let’s go to my office.”
Alice was clearly nervous and upset. “I know you are a Christian professor. And…”
Haltingly, she told me her story. Alice was involved in a Christian student group on campus. Indeed, she led a women’s small group. She was single… and had just discovered she was pregnant. She was embarrassed, confused, and deeply discouraged. Her parents, living in another country, would be very angry.
She had concerns about her boyfriend and even wondered if she wanted to see him anymore. She had anxiety about pregnancy, her life as a Christian, and her chances of graduating in May.
I believe the Holy Spirit gave me the words to say. After Alice told me her story, my first words were to congratulate her on the miracle God had given her. Although she was anxious and upset now, the child growing in her womb would one day be recognized as a blessing and gift from God! We talked about her anxieties, her parents, her studies, and her small group.
We committed to praying briefly after each class. I gave her my mobile number and encouraged her to text me. Occasionally, as the semester wore on, I would text her with a brief statement of support as she met with the staff from her campus group and then talked to the girls in her small group. She eventually phoned her mother … and endured an angry phone call from a sister.
Over the following weeks and months, my church small group prayed for her (first as an unnamed student, later by name.) A Christian woman doctor in our group met with her and encouraged her to continue the pregnancy, to stay healthy, and to get regular checkups. The doctor shared with Alice a story of a Christian friend who had successfully traveled the road Alice was on. In an early doctor’s visit, Alice saw an ultrasound of her baby — a boy!
Eventually, Alice joined my wife and me at our church and met some members of our small group. Late in the semester, Alice brought her boyfriend to church and introduced him to us.
I helped Alice negotiate a way to walk in May graduation — with her parents in the audience! — and graduate after a summer class. At this time (August 2022), Alice is healthy and looking forward to the delivery of her son.
For most students, faculty are the closest staff contacts on campus. We meet with them several times a week; we make eye contact; we call them by name. Those of us who identify as Christ-followers can be His hands and feet.
Guided by the Holy Spirit, we impact our students’ lives — even, sometimes, the lives of their children!
Ken W. Smith
Mathematics
Sam Houston State University