It's all a Gift - Bethel Seminary Heart & Mind

Reflections on Writing in Cambridge

Jeannine Brown, associate professor of New Testament and associate academic dean at Bethel Seminary, went to Cambridge, England, to write a new textbook on hermeneutics. Little did she know what deep lessons the Author of life would write on her heart.

by Jeannine Brown

"What in the world am I doing?" I thought just an hour into the bus ride from London to Cambridge last spring. Nearly two days had passed since I said goodbye to my husband and two daughters for a five-week sabbatical study in Cambridge, England. It was my first extended time away from my family. It also was an opportunity I could not refuse that would

permit me to complete a substantial amount of writing on my sabbatical project, Scripture as Communication: Introducing Biblical Hermeneutics, a textbook focusing on the theoretical and practical aspects of interpreting the Bible.

Tyndale House in Cambridge is a biblical studies library and research center that offers visiting scholars housing and library facilities. My five weeks there were both delightful and rigorous: long days of research and writing punctuated with welcome interruptions for daily teatime and weekly chapel. The community atmosphere afforded lively conversations with other visiting scholars and with Cambridge doctoral students. By writing throughout the day - some days up to 14 hours - I was able to finish about two-thirds of the draft of my book before my family joined me for some R&R.

But those first weeks were not “all work and no play”—I couldn't ignore the fact that I was writing in Cambridge, England! Somehow I found time to bicycle through the countryside, tour some of the colleges of Cambridge University, visit the beautiful Orchard Tea Gardens restaurant, travel to Oxford, and enjoy the community of students and scholars who dwelled at Tyndale House during my stay. Alex was one such friend, an Old Testament scholar from Indonesia who shared my library cubicle while he worked on a commentary. He was often cooking his dinner when I showed up in the communal kitchen to prepare mine. Each of these relationships enriched my time and stimulated my thinking and work.

Yet I don’t think I have anticipated any moment in my recent life so much as the reunion planned with my family on Father’s Day in London. Five long weeks had passed and now we were going to see each other again! I waited close to three hours in the lobby of the Holiday Inn-Mayfair, peering into each approaching taxi for signs of Tim, Kate, and Libby. Finally, I spotted two tell-tale ponytails - one red and one blond. It was a moment I will never forget, with broad smiles and plenty of tears on my part. We spent the next few weeks in England, France, and Italy on a once-in-a-lifetime family vacation.

Jeanine Brown and family in FranceKnowing God’s presence

Reflecting on my sojourn overseas, I have been struck by the number of ways God was very present with and apparent to me in England. To be quite honest, I wasn't sure how He might be working in the middle of an extended writing project. The writing was quite academic—it’s part of my “job” as a biblical scholar. And I still struggle to live out what I have become convinced is true - that there is no sacred/secular divide, that my work, my vocation, is just as much the arena of our incarnational God as any other part of my life. It was a joy, then, that during those five weeks I gained a much deeper awareness of God’s presence in my work - in my thinking and even in the process of writing.

In an email to friends and family I wrote:

The time in Cambridge has not only been productive for my book project, it has also provided opportunities for new relationships and personal reflection. I've seen God’s hand in so many aspects of my work, from turning to part of a book that deals directly with what I had just

writing (unplanned connections) to an off-chance meeting with a linguist from the University of Helsinki who is doing research in Cambridge that turned into a lunch conversation about linguistics and biblical hermeneutics. God has been continually surprising me and reinforcing the truth that my work is as important to God as it is to me (although that doesn't mean I consider my book to be divinely inspired!).

Life is gift

Another affirmation of God’s work and presence had come in an unexpected way just prior to my leaving for England—two moments juxtaposed in the weeks before my departure. The first happened when my younger daughter, Libby, crawled into bed with me one evening. As she was falling asleep, she took my hand in hers. My mind had been full of my writing project up to that moment. I felt as if faced with a choice: family or book? I breathed through the clutter of my thoughts and turned toward Libby, praying for her and for me. I prayed that I would remain true to my primary commitments, even as I responded to the call of devoting uninterrupted time to the book project. For me, it was a defining moment for the days that followed.

Fast forward one week: I answered the phone to learn that a question had arisen about the results of a routine medical test; I was asked to return the next day for a follow-up visit. Tim and I talked long into the night. I shared with him that in the middle of my fears about the next day, it seemed that God was saying Life is gift. It’s all a gift.

I am grateful to report that the follow-up test was negative. Returning from my visit to the doctor, I sat down at the piano in the quiet of our home. Listening to the lovely spring rain outside and reflecting on what God had revealed during that roller coaster week, I wrote a song:

Little hand
Resting in mine
Everything is clear
To me
Life is gift
Wrapped in grace…

My sabbatical was part of God’s gift to me last year - a gift in so many ways. It provided me with the gift of time to study and write on a subject I love - biblical interpretation. The Bethel Alumni Grant I received provided part of the funding for my work in Cambridge, and for that gift I am very grateful. The gift of a new and exciting context stimulated my creativity in the writing process. Finally, I experienced in a new way the gift of my family - their support and permission to go and the joyous reunion we experienced together. God’s gifts are good.