Taking a Literary Risk

I’m embarking on something that many would call extremely foolish. I’m bringing God into my creative thesis.

My thesis advisor is a nice enough woman. She’s very smart and a good editor of writing (although she drives me nuts more often than not). She’s also a lesbian, staunch liberal, and while I’ve never asked her specifically, appears to be atheist or agnostic. Except for her sexual preference, she’s about the same as the vast majority of professors on this campus.

I was warned that including an essay very near to my heart, dealing with Christian female relationships torn apart when one marries, in my thesis was a bad idea to begin with, let alone in a thesis directed by my advisor. “She’ll tear you to pieces over all that Christian stuff. Religious beliefs signify no critical thinking skills to her, and that’s the last thing you want written on your project evaluation.” If future employers want to see my thesis as part of the selection process, having a religion-themed essay that doesn’t criticize religion can keep me out of a lot of schools. I used to say that I wouldn’t want to work at those schools, anyway. Now with the economy and my chances of finding full-time employment as a college professor diminishing, I can’t afford to be too choosy.

My advisor handled the essay fairly well, probably because the fact that the characters being Christian is a secondary focus—the real attention is on what effect marriage has on a friendship. I was surprised that my advisor let it go as much as she did and credited God with the mercy of not having to deal with that discussion during such a stressful time. My next choice to bring God in may undo that merciful no-comment decision.

While they’re not mandatory, it is traditional that thesis writers include an acknowledgements page. Your first people to thank are always your committee members and your advisor. That’s just common sense—they did the most work, so they get first dibs on the hierarchy. In my draft, however, my committee members are upstaged by a more important influence in my life.

Here’s the text:

First and foremost, to my God, without whom I would be nothing—thank You for your blessings, guidance, and Your constant presence. May You work through me every day for the rest of my life.

To my thesis committee, who had to deal with the wild rantings of an overstressed woman,
To my father, who had to sacrifice watching TV in the living room for months so I could work in peace,
To my mother, who listened to me although she had no clue what I was talking about,
To my sister, who reminded me that this is why she never went to college,
To my grandmother and aunt, who prayed for the completion of this more than I’ll ever know,
To my many beloved friends, who gave me space and distracted me in turn,
To my Radar, who let me wake him constantly for reaffirmation without demanding tuna in return,
I thank you all.

A classmate read this while proofreading my thesis. “Ok, the cat thing is cute at the end, but the God thing is going to get you in big trouble. You’re at a public liberal arts university, not a private Bible college.” Amazing that thanking a cat who doesn’t even appear in any of the essays is allowed but I can’t thank my own Creator, the One who is behind everything I am capable of doing.

It would be simple enough to just delete the two sentences. It’d make people happy. The thing is, this is my thesis. I’m supposed to be happy with this huge piece of work. I can’t do that without being honest—that although my faith may not be as strong as I want it to be, I do believe what that note says.

If we are to “give God the glory,” we can’t pick and choose what accomplishments are politically correct to credit to Him.