Masland Library Blog

There’s nothing more beautiful than watching the sun rise above the horizon early in the morning. As it slowly peeks above the horizon and seeps between the branches of the trees, the warmth it sheds is enough to warm every passer by’s shivering hands.
 
This semester I’ve had the joy of watching the sun rise as I walk to work in the library early in the morning . It’s been something that has brought joy and warmth to my heart and my hands on cold wintry rainy mornings.

As I ponder the little  joys in life, like the rising sun, I thought about our porcelain lives, so fragile and frail… only one crashing wave away from being shattered to peices. Yet with every day I wake and watch the sunrise, I somehow manage to take it for granted. With every breath, I fail to realize His grace in giving me yet another moment.

Another moment to breathe,
to see,
to dream,
to hope,
to grow in godliness,
to smile,
to be His,
to live a Holy life,
and to Love in obedience to His command.

It’s so easy to get distracted by the grandeur of this world and all it has to offer, and I am not immune. But I wonder…what would it look like, if every porcelain life lived wholly dedicated to His purposes? What would my life look like if in light of my hopes and dreams,  I let His light shine the way and change the path where He sees fit?
Maybe a porcelain life isn’t that bad after all. If it’s shattered by a crashing wave of reality, all it’s pieces will rest in the hand of the one who molded it to be in the first place.

C.T Studd put it this way:
Two little lines I heard one day, Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart, And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, yes only one, Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet, And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.
Only one life, the still small voice, Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave, And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.
…
Only one life, yes only one, Now let me say, “Thy will be done”;
And when at last I’ll hear the call, I know I’ll say ’twas worth it all”;
Only one life,’ twill soon be past, Only what’s done for Christ will last.

~In Honor of the Life of Dr. Hsu, a loved professor at PBU, who went home to be with Jesus on Decemer 2, 2011. Thank you for letting your Porcelain life shine His light in everything you did. You will be missed by many, but the legacy that He has formed in you, will continue to live on. ~

1 Thessalonians 4: 13: – 18
Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. According to the Lord’s own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that , we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

~Grace Suliman

Time is a funny thing.  There are days and weeks that never seem to end, there are times when minutes go past so slowly that you literally feel older just watching the clock tick.  Then there are times when  you cannot seem to keep track of time, the hands on the clock seem to move at lightening speed ticking away the precious seconds and minutes of our lives.  I recently took a trip overseas to Poland and the time change is 6 hours. I lost 6 hours and then regained them on the trip back, and I found that while the plane ride there didn't seem so long at 8ish hours, the trip back at 10:20 minutes seemed to drag out interminably. 

I have been at PBU for 10 years this semester.  I started my undergraduate work in Fall 2001, I lived in Davis Dorm with a wonderful group of women who loved adventure and had huge goals for the future.  It is has been a privilege seeing how their lives have changed and the paths they have taken in the last 10 years.  I have remained at PBU to work in the library as my life has always revolved around books, my parents and grandparents fostered this love in me and my work as a librarian here at PBU is rewarding as I get to help students at PBU learn and exceed in their academic studies.

During my undergraduate years a large percentage of my friends consisted of music majors and through them and my cousin in the honors program I was introduced to Dr. Hsu.  My first thoughts on Dr. Hsu was that he was brilliant on the keys, he played superbly and yet was one of the most approachable men I have ever met.  I worked in the library and it was months before I realized Dr. Hsu and the Dr. Hui's were all related, I think it finally sunk in when I was invited to Ms. Stewart's house for one of the holidays I couldn't get home for that year.

In the last 10 years I have been blessed to know and to learn from Dr. Hsu, not piano (I am a hopeless cause there), but rather in his wisdom and love of the Lord.  My roommate for many years was a music major and when several of my classmates and Dr. Hsu's personal assistants had left the area my roommate and I would on occasions take Dr. Hsu home.  Those trips were always interesting and filled with grand conversations.  I especially remember one trip out to a friend's wedding in Shoamokin, PA when my roommate and I took Dr. Hsu out there so they could play a duet together for the wedding.  Dr. Hsu was internationally known and yet he was always so involved in his students and former students lives that he would frequently play at their weddings and  events.  He is a man who left a deep impact on the people in his church and here at PBU.  Even when he wasn't feeling well he would always have a smile and a kind word.

We will miss Dr. Hsu, but we also know that he is with the Savior he loved so well.  He spent almost 40 years with the students at PBU, investing and sending them out to the field.  I am sure if you asked him how the time went he would say quickly, and yet what a wonderful investment.

~Laura Saloiye

From the PBU Facebook site:

Dr. Samuel Hsu Memorial Visitation Wednesday, December 7, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm at the Dunn-Givnish Funeral Home in Langhorne, PA, the family will receive visitors. Memorial Service Thursday, December 8, 10:00 am at Tenth Presbyterian Church, Philadelphia, PA. There will be a prelude beginning at 9:30 am with former students of Dr. Hsu playing. The service will also be simulcast at Philadelphia Biblical University in the Chatlos Chapel.