By Scarlett Birge, student news writer, Office of University Communications
CAMPBELLSVILLE, Ky. – “I’ve always loved the outdoors; it’s something that was really instilled to me through my family,” Trent Creason, director of student activities, said as he led the virtual chapel service from Clay Hill Memorial Forest for part of Campbellsville University’s Outdoor Week.
“In the disconnect that the pandemic has caused, people have really been spending a lot more time outside and finding a way to connect to nature and even connect with others,” he said.
Creason said he continues spreading the enjoyment of nature he got from his childhood into his adulthood by staying involved in outdoor activities with his wife and children. “As my love of the outdoors has grown, it’s really overflowed into the lives that are around me,” he said.
Connecting to loved ones is what makes being in nature so special he said. Rather than focus on the destination or the adventure, he said that the growing bond of those involved was the most valuable outcome.
Everything we have is not just about the moment we’re in, but more about being connected to God, Creason said.
Creason read from John 4:6-21 and Mark 6:56, which show how people gravitated toward Jesus with the desire to connect. “There’s an inward need to connect and be near to him,” he said.
He spoke of how being socially disconnected can be a challenge and how it can create tension between people, but that God creates pathways to allow us to connect and heal through him.
“This is a connection that doesn’t just meet the need or satisfy for the moment, it will overflow,” Creason said about trusting in God.
Creason said that when we are connected to God and trust in him, unconditional love overflows in abundance in the most real and genuine way.
“That great longing and desire to be connected to God can first and foremost only be satisfied through the person of Jesus,” he said. Creason said being connected to God allows for every moment to be transformed.
“There are a lot of ways to relate with God,” he said. “God’s experience with you and the way that he gives you the opportunities to relate with him are probably more grand and vast than you can even imagine.”
Citing Romans 1:20 and Colossians 1:9, Creason said the very existence of nature declares God is genuine and has a purpose for everyone and we should find and follow the set plan God has in place by connecting and relating to him.
“I pray that you draw near to God,” he said.
All chapels are televised on WLCU (Comcast Cable channel 10 and digital channel 15), streamed on Campbellsville University’s Facebook page and wlcutv.com and can be found at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGOyyKyrGBpSx8-uXa4NRtw.
Campbellsville University is a widely acclaimed Kentucky-based Christian university with more than 11,900 students offering over 100 programs of study including Ph.D., master, baccalaureate, associate, pre-professional and certification programs. The website for complete information is www.campbellsville.edu.
Campbellsville University is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award certificates, associate, baccalaureate, masters and doctoral degrees. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679-4500 for questions about the status of Campbellsville University.