As I finish reflecting on my trip to my 30th Alumni Reunion for the NY Theta Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) through my writing, I thought it would be fitting to end with what I believe was another one of God’s mysterious ways that helped make my attendance to that reunion even possible.
I haven’t been back to visit my fraternity or my alma mater since the spring of 2014 mainly due to financial restraints in my life. Add in the distance I put between my fraternity and I over the years due to shame and guilt of where my life went and the reality I wasn’t even doing the career I went to school for anymore, nor had any paying job, I didn’t feel that attending any of the reunions was even practical for me. So, when I saw the 30th reunion was coming up, I quickly dismissed any idea of going.
Four weeks away from it though, I randomly received a call from a brother on the alumni reunion planning committee, someone I barely knew who had been initiated long after I had graduated and moved away. He took the time to get to know me during the call and at the end asked if I was going to attend the 30th reunion. I told him it just wasn’t in my budget, which he understood. I thanked him for the call and hung up grateful for the connection but sad over the distance I felt with the majority of my fraternity.
Not too long after his call, I decided to place a posting on our fraternity’s Facebook group. That action was solely precipitated after seeing a post from last fall where one of our brothers passed away tragically due to addictions and mental health issues. I wanted my brothers to know I too have faced much of the same thing so I poured my heart out, which at the end of it, I let my brothers know I wouldn’t be attending the 30th reunion due to financial constraints.
That night, I sent a prayer to God, something so many often tell me they think is a pointless action and is just us talking to ourselves. While I do understand why they feel this way given how many times prayers often go unanswered, sometimes prayers are answered in very direct ways, as was the case with this one.
I simply prayed that if God wanted me to attend this 30th alumni reunion of my fraternity, that He had to make it happen, as I had far too many reasons telling me why I couldn’t and shouldn’t go. I went to bed right after that prayer. When I awoke the next morning, I had a private message in my Facebook account from a brother I also didn’t know all too well and hadn’t spoken to in a very, very long time. In his message, he said he was moved by what I had shared our group’s Facebook page and that he believed God was leading him to pay for all my major expenses to attend the reunion. Because of the timeliness of his message, having uttered that prayer mere hours earlier before heading to bed, I honestly couldn’t refute that God does listen and does care.
Why other prayers don’t get answered, including the many health-based ones I’ve been muttering for years I don’t know. Why God answered this one, obviously wanting me to attend this reunion, I’m not sure if I know the depths to that answer either, but what I can say is that in attending this reunion, I was able to leave with both a rejuvenated feeling of reconnection to my brotherhood and closure to all my toxic and tainted addictive past that affected my relationship with so many of them for so long.
So, yes, I am quite thankful for seeing yet another one of God’s mysterious ways manifest in my life. Attending my 30th Alumni Reunion of the NY Theta Chapter of Phi Kappa Psi at RIT has left me with many beautiful memories, some new friends, and a release from all the shame and guilt I had carried for far too long with a fraternity I truly love from the bottom of my heart.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
