This is the third morning in a row that I have woken prior to my alarm clock. At least an hour before my alarm clock. It is only problematic because I set my alarm about 7 hours from when I turn off my light - the minimum amount of sleep that I know still gives me enough to function at 100%..... so its the beginning of the third day where I have less than 100% value worth of sleep. Ick.
The title of this blog comes from an old Hymn that I love called, "May Jesus Christ be Praised!" It sings of the feeling that as Christians we have (or should have?) in all circumstances... including when the balm of sleep is denied to the believer. And so I praise God today that I am awake and alive, and I am grateful for an extra hour this morning - an unexpected bit of time to write in my blog, drink coffee, and think before heading to Alpha Delta Pi initiation.
By this point (6:24am) I have gotten dressed, grabbed a bag of homework and necessities and made coffee and have about 20 minutes before I have to leave for the ADPi chapter room to help get everything together for this morning's ritual and celebration.
There are so many things I need to post about:
* PhD news
* Job application status
* My life in general
* This semester and how its going
But in honor of this morning, I am going take a few minutes and write about Alpha Delta Pi! Alpha Delta Pi was the first secret society for women - it began as the Adelphean Society in 1851, later adopted the Greek letters: Alpha Delta Phi, but when it was discovered that there was a men's fraternity with the same letters, changed Phi to Pi and here we are today. Our open motto, "We Live for Each Other" we believe exemplifies the highest ideals of Christian womanhood (the sorority was founded by six christian women who were friends and classmates at Wesleyan Female College in Georgia).
My experiences in Alpha Delta Pi are numerous and varied. I was a collegian at Northern Arizona University, and it was my relationship with my Diamond Sister (ADPi does not have "big" and "little" sisters - choosing instead to have relationships which place the sisters on equal footing - not in a heirarchy. a diamond sister is a special sister who serves as a sponsor through your beginning experiences in alpha delta pi) - it was my relationship with my Diamond Sister that moved me toward a relationship with Christ. Her name is Chalea and I've told her this before, but her invitations to Campus Crusade, and the way that I could see a difference in the way she lived versus how other people lived caused me to realize that there was something missing in my life. So you can understand one of the special connections I have to ADPi.
My roommate, Terra, became a special friend to me as well. She was two years younger than me, but had some life experiences which had caused her to become a mature and thoughtful woman early. She stood by me as I made the decision to not get married to my college boyfriend - and I have always been grateful for her support through that entire experience! My other roommate, Amy, was a woman who could make me laugh and think depending on the day. I was priviledged to attend both of their weddings and joyfully watch them marry men who valued who they are as women.
Another sister, Liz, and I were good friends - I think mostly because she had tried out for Collegiate Jeopardy and I thought that was awesome. I drifted out of touch with many of my sisters but somehow Liz and I reconnected years later and found out we were both active members (and maybe both discussion group leaders) of a Bible Study Fellowship class. It was a blessing to me to have this friend from my past turn out to be a committed Christian and it deepened our bond as sisters! I was also able to travel to her wedding, which was a super fun reunion of sisters.
I had wanted to get involved with a Collegiate chapter for a number of years, but wasn't in a position to do so in Seattle (no time). And Greenville was really too far from any chapter (I thought) - plus football season kept me pretty tied down. Well, when I decided to attend Baylor I found out that they had an ADPi chapter there and was pretty excited. I thought, "maybe now I can get involved with some women and help them see the love that I have for ADPi and help them to cultivate it!"
See, the core of what Alpha Delta Pi is - which is revealed most fully during initation to our newest members - guided me through my life following my own initiation in 1994. I cannot begin to describe how our open motto: "We live for each other" and what ADPi stands for have helped me to become the woman I am today - hopefully a woman who values others, who serves others, and who tries to exemplify the highest ideals of Christian womanhood.
At Baylor, I have made so many dear friends from women who I only knew initially as sisters. Both collegiate (undergraduate) women and alumnae advisors are now in my sphere of friends who share special memories, jokes, and care for each other deeply. Danielle, Holly, Sara; Naomi, Michelle, Kristen, Alice, Bethany, Sammi, Katie, Ashley - these are only a small drop in the bucket of names - I could go on for about 200 names of women who have touched my heart! :)
As I prepare for this initiation this morning, (my second to last initiation as a member of the Zeta Chi advisor board (We will initiation 8 more women just after Easter and these will be the last until next spring)...... I am grateful to God for bringing me to Alpha Delta Pi as a junior in college. I'm grateful that I had the ability to see how our deepest shared values and meanings lined up with what it meant to be in Christ and how that helped me to become a stronger Christian and a stronger woman over the years. And I'm grateful for the opportunity to share that with women today at initiation. I am grateful that I had even two years to serve this chapter as an advisor - and no matter how much I wish it were more - I wouldn't trade these two years for anything.
To my ADPi sisters who read this blog: I love you. I live for you. Thanks for what you've added to my life.
To my friends who have not been a part of a sorority, but who I count as sisters of my heart: You have also touched my heart in many ways and I'm grateful for you.
To collegiate women who read this story and think, "I want a sisterhood like that" - then may I please encourage you to consider Alpha Delta Pi?
Blessings to you all - another update coming. But for now - Love, Tiffani
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