Hello, my name is Zach Epp and I am from Vancouver, BC.
If you asked me during the first day, week, or month of RJC to deliver a student reflection in front of a church full of people, I’m quite certain I would have frozen solid in utter terror. I was a nervous, shy kid who wanted nothing more than to go to school and play sports. But, that didn’t even begin to scratch the surface of what RJC had to offer.
Above all else, RJC has given me the chance to try new things. I was in a musical, and for those of you who have seen me dance, that’s nothing short of a miracle; I have sung in choirs in front of full crowds; I have participated in student leadership; and I have sprinted around the dormitory with a group of guys making as much noise as humanly possible. I would have never seen myself doing any of these things two years ago.
This community has taught me that life has so much more to offer when you simply step outside of your own box. In the book of Matthew, when the disciple Peter decides to take a leap of faith and walk on water, Jesus is there to support him. Some of you who are familiar with this story will know that Peter gets off to a great start; he takes one stop, two steps out of the boat and is safe. All of the sudden, he decides to pull a classic Peter and gets scared. He begins to sink, but Jesus is there to catch him.
The moral of this story isn’t that Peter got scared; it’s that he had a community that supported him in doing something scary. Jesus caught him in his time of need. God put a lot of great things on this earth just past the line of fear and comfort, and sometimes all we have to do is step through that line.
For me, the last two years have provided a community in which I feel safe to do things that scare me. The fact that I am standing here talking in front of you all today is proof that I got scared and was caught by those around me. I have been able to extend myself to try things I never could have seen myself doing before RJC. Musical, student leadership, and singing in choir are all examples of things I have been able to do simply because of the supportive community around me. This is something I will forever be grateful for.
This reflection was written by Zach Epp and delivered at the 2022 Graduation Baccalaureate Worship Service at Rosthern Mennonite Church on June 26, 2022.
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