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Visions Of Victory #x: Coming Home

Visions Of Victory #x: Coming Home

There is nothing like the celebration of Homecoming at Bethune-Cookman University. The annual reunion of Wildcats validated that last week during their annual pilgrimage home. Only at Homecoming does the air seem lighter, the sun shine brighter and longer and the campus roar to life like never before. Something big is about to happen and everyone can feel it.
From the first time recruit walking around to the graduate who has returned for the first time in over thirty years, the story is the same…There is something special about this place! You truly can feel it. It is steeped in history, manicured like royalty and revered as the cradle of excellence for generations of students who walked these sacred grounds. For years I could never put my finger on it but this past week it came to me! THIS IS WHAT FAITH FEELS LIKE! Mary's Faith…In God and ourselves.

Person after person came up to me with pride celebrating the growth of the campus, the explosion of new academic programs and the tremendous success of our athletic and band programs. To each of them, the brand is at an all-time high. "I never thought that we would get to this level, but I prayed it would", was the common response. Well prayer is what transforms Faith into action and through the years it is what has sustained us.

While most campuses are littered with building after building purchased by the pen stroke of a legislator with a bill, ours is filled with examples of benevolence and of tithes and offerings. Face it, B-CU is a church…there are more than two or three who are gathered in His name, there is freedom to worship and praise, there is an expectancy of miracles in each of the over thirty eight hundred students who study here. They are the miracles! Many could not have ever attended had it not been for the gifts of love from families like the Larry Handfield's, The Lee Rhyant's and the Rufus Wilson's and others who for decades have pumped millions into the university to invest in future Wildcats. They came here with nothing, but left here with an education, a burden to serve and FAITH!

For those grads who marvel at the beauty of the campus and the growth in buildings and acreage they are reduced to tears of joy because this place has become bigger than they could have ever imagined. Faith did it!  I listened to an older man stunned that the tiny college that he graduated from, with a small marching band of less than seventy strong, had morphed into a highly respected university that now has a huge presence on the major thoroughfare in town that for decades was the dividing point between the haves and the have nots…Volusia Avenue (International Speedway Boulevard).

I sat in awe as people strolled in bringing their kids and grandkids to meet Jack "Cy" McClairen and to thank him for the tough love he showed during his coaching career. I am sure that in every building on campus the same occurred because B-CU is full of these icons and these stories.

The parade, tailgating ,Legacy Walk and football game victory were all great moments of school spirit and Wildcat Pride but for me the greatest moment was at the end of the pep rally when thousands of Wildcat fans sang the Alma mater in unison with the Marching Wildcats…the crowd noise ceased when the song turned into prayer, "O God protect dear B-CC crown her with love and cheer, we'll ever sing thy praise to thee it makes us strong and bold"…then something truly special happened. When the crowd began to sing "all hail to thee dear B-CC", a massive fireworks display began at the stadium and undoubtedly in the hearts and spirt of every Wildcat young and old! What timing and what power!

That's when it hit me. THIS IS WHAT FAITH FEELS LIKE! Mary told us so
 
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