Becca
Becca Howell
I was born in St. Paul, MN., and raised in Southern California. My dad is a (mostly) former hippie and long-time missionary/pastor/seminary professor. My mom is a Baltimore-born straight arrow who recently rejoined the work force as an LPN. I’ve lived in Minnesota, California, South Africa, South Carolina, and now Arkansas. I’ve traveled to Britain, Holland, Czech Republic, Germany, Austria, Israel, Jordan… I teach Biblical Worldview and English at Little Rock Christian Academy. In the future I hope to be a more faithful steward of the present.
I was raised in a fairly strict home, so for the first twelve or so years of my life, Christianity was to me primarily a set of rules. I don’t think that is the message my parents intended, but that is what my child’s mind understood. I had a decent grasp on the knowledge that goes along with being a Christian, and as far as outward behavior went I did a pretty good job of applying that knowledge. But it wasn’t until 6th grade when a girl who really disliked me, and whom I thought silly, told me that I was “stuck up” that I really paused to think about my spiritual condition. After I turned to my mom for a second opinion, I considered the implications of the pride she confirmed as displayed by me. I realized that like everything else in my life my understanding of Christianity was centered on myself. I obeyed the rules, I did the right thing, I had all the “right” answers—after all, Christ had died for me so that I could be saved. What I had totally missed- not intellectually, but practically—up until that moment, was the fact that Christ rightly expects something of me in return—not as a payment, but as a tribute, a joyfully obedient response of submission to His person and will. I probably wouldn’t have put it like that at the time; I believe I expressed it more in terms of “the appropriate response to Christ’s gift is to give Him myself, and I wasn’t living that way before. I wanted all the advantages of salvation, but none of the life-change, none of the personal sacrifice.”
I’ve been a believer for 15-ish years now, and while all this time later I still find myself fighting daily with my pride, I rejoice in knowing that I am not the author of my faith, and that I am not alone in the battle against sin. I have my Savior and my fellow believers on my side!
Pop Quiz
1. Most Formative Moment of your life (other than coming to know Jesus)
I won’t really go into details here, but it was the day I realized that words have more than one meaning, and that I could get to know and trust a person based on one interpretation of the things they said, only to find out that what that person intended to mean, because of their unshared redefinition of terms, was worlds away from what I thought they meant. That was a rough day. Of course, it might also have been the day I discovered that I was good at literary interpretation. I had never been “good” at anything before except sports.
2. Favorite Jr. High fashion statement you wish you could resurrect
Let the dead rest in peace. It’s better for everyone that way.
3. Top moment of personal glory or achievement
Summiting Half-dome at Yosemite in 4.5 hours. Or skiing on black diamond routes the second day I ever skied. That was fun. Or getting a full-ride to grad school. That was definitely affirming.
4. Aspect of God’s character most endearing to you
That He is perfectly consistent with every aspect of His character all the time. Makes my brain hurt, but sometimes I think I can almost get it. It makes Him God and me, not.
5. Worst you’ve ever felt
Not sure how to answer this. God has so far preserved me from many personal losses. There are days, more than less, when the weight of the existence of sin and evil in this world seem almost too great to bear—not because I am apart from it, but because every day there is fresh proof of my favorite bands recurring theme: “Everything’s Broken.” Those are somber and challenging days. I suppose if I had to pick one period of time that I could share it would be my first year of graduate school. I was without family, without anyone to care about me, without transportation and therefore without opportunity of really finding a church family. I got very, very sick (pneumonia) and there was no one to check on me or help me take care of myself. I had to take the bus to the doctor and the bus to the store, walking a mile each way to the stop when I could barely breathe. For a few months I was quite low, if not despairing, in spirits. But I found, as I had before, that sometimes being left with no other option but to read the Word and pray is actually the best thing for me. God did later provide a car and a church family—but I wonder if He didn’t force me to rely completely on Him for encouragement during the first year because He knew I had entered a course of study in which few Christians really thrive (or, indeed, survive), and that no theological argument was going to save me from doubt. I needed the reminder of His constant presence and love.
6. Best Childhood Cartoon and why
Wasn’t allowed to watch cartoons. See, I told you the upbringing was strict. Did eventually earn the privilege of watching the old Batman and Robin series, if that counts. Holy Sardines, Batman!
7. All time greatest jam for a High School Dance
Never went to one. Homeschooled, you see. I know, I know. Sad little deprived homeschooler. At least I don’t have embarrassing memories attached to many of radio’s most iconic songs.
8. Chief aspiration for the rest of this decade
Hmmm. That doesn’t leave much time. I suppose it’s to become solvent. And then spend the next decade seeing what I haven’t yet seen of the world.