{"id":2648,"date":"2020-12-25T03:34:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-25T03:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/clone\/2020\/12\/25\/the-faith-of-the-dreamer\/"},"modified":"2023-06-02T07:02:30","modified_gmt":"2023-06-02T05:02:30","slug":"the-faith-of-the-dreamer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/the-faith-of-the-dreamer\/","title":{"rendered":"The Faith of the Dreamer: Disciple Receives Art Degree 48 Years Later"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n
\"\"<\/center>\n<\/a>\n \u201cTrust in the Lord and do good; Take delight in the Lord; Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.\u201d \u2014 <\/i>\n Psalm 37: 3-7 <\/span>\n


When I surrendered my life to God over 30 years ago, I committed to believing him, and trusting in his promises. Today, as a faithful servant of Christ in the Athens Church of Christ<\/a>, I am grateful to God for his plan and his perfect timing. I was recently recognized for completing coursework towards a BFA in Studio Art while studying at Mercer University in Macon, Georgia in 1972. Though rightfully earned at that time, I did not receive my degree as an undergraduate due to the bigotry and prejudice of the department head.

Although I had tried before to have my qualifications reviewed, it was to no avail! Nevertheless, I didn’t allow what happened to rob me of the joys of life. Forty-seven years later, I would have never imagined God opening a door I thought was closed. It was by His design that I would meet a Mercer University distinguished professor outside of the Atlanta airport in October 2019. Due to delays and a missed connecting flight, our paths crossed and what started as a casual conversation led to my sharing about my painful experience at Mercer. <\/p>\n

From that moment, this compassionate professor became the gateway to my dream coming true. I was honored to accept a request to have a one woman Art exhibit which included several art works from my art study from 1968-1972. During a reception held at Mercer on September 25, 2020, I received my degree in studio art with family and friends in attendance as witnesses! My greatest blessing was being able to share with my mother, before she passed on April 27th, the amazing news of what God was unfolding. It gave her joy and peace knowing I would finally receive my degree and for that, I am grateful! <\/p>\n

\n The Atlanta Journal-Constitution <\/i> featured my story in detail which can be read here<\/a>. <\/span>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently I was recognized for completing coursework towards an art degree while studying at Mercer University in Georgia in 1972.…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":2649,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12,16],"tags":[54,72],"post_folder":[151],"class_list":["post-2648","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-testimonials","category-womens-ministry","tag-north-america","tag-race-and-culture"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/12\/gwen_payton.png?fit=615%2C618&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"dtadmin","author_link":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/author\/dtadmin\/"},"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/phsvEw-GI","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":23821,"url":"https:\/\/disciplestoday.org\/clone\/hearing-gods-voice-in-the-noise-of-life\/","url_meta":{"origin":2648,"position":0},"title":"Hearing God\u2019s Voice in the Noise of Life","author":"dtadmin","date":"May 16, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Like Elijah, we often get lost in the noise of life and cannot hear God\u2019s voice. 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