Becky Ankeny
I spent much of my childhood in Burundi, Africa, where my parents were missionaries. We also spent two years at Rough Rock Friends Mission on the Navajo Reservation. My missionary kid experience has been both a help and a hindrance in my relationship with God. From childhood on, I wanted to be God's person, but I was always in doubt of God's love for me. Then, mercifully, God met me in my need in my late teens, and since then, I have been learning gradually what it means that nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus.
A formative experience for me occurred when I read the book of Mark at one sitting three weekends in a row. I was so taken with the character of Jesus, his charisma and energy, and I have never recovered from that vision. Observing in Mark and the other Gospels what Jesus did in relationship to those around him, particularly as a context for what he taught, has challenged me in many areas. His claim that he did nothing without his Father, that he and his Father were united, one, moved me away from any ability to consider that God was judging and Jesus was saving. In fact, Paul's insistence that Jesus is both our judge and our advocate has helped me put away my fearfulness about God's love for me.
I taught English at George Fox University for many years. One of my students asked me what my favorite verse is, and, though "favorite" is too exclusive a term, I answered with John 3:8: "The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear the sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So too is everyone born of the Spirit." This refers to the freedom of God to lead and to teach as God pleases. Our systems for understanding and describing God are no more than trees through which the wind blows. I want to be alert to this freedom. This understanding of God's freedom was important to me in navigating the time I was in leadership in Northwest Yearly Meeting of Friends.
God also led me during that time to Paul's teaching that the law is crucified with Christ, but not resurrected with Christ. Our attempts to take refuge in law, in proscriptions and prescriptions, so that we can feel safe among the like-minded or protected from destructive forces run counter to Paul's insistence on grace being the way God works with us.
I'm now retired and working mostly on being human. I still enjoy preparing and delivering sermons, and I'm grateful for the chances I have had to do so. I am glad for the friendship and love of my husband Mark and my daughters and their families.