by Dave Carey
I met Sabrina in my 2nd year as a Bethany staff member. I was Bethany's recruiter at the time and she was one of our student phoners. Sabrina was always incredibly reliable in her role and was a leader to the rest of the team of phoners (including me a times). Her administrative abilities were a definite blessing but what really stood out for Sabrina was her ability to connect and relate with just about anyone. That combined with her immense and obvious love for people made just about every conversation with her one of great value. She had the ability to look past all the differences between people and genuinely care for them. It's that care that made her a leader amongst her peers, made her respected amongst faculty and staff and I'm sure makes her a great counsellor and caregiver in her role now. I have accumulated a lot of "favourites" over my years at Bethany and Sabrina (Swereda) Friesen will always remain in the top of that list.
Sabrina Friesen (Alumni)
For many of my teenage and early adult years my heart had been filled with a longing to be good at something. Anything really, so long as I could be good—like really good at it. My heart craved identity in that thing. You know, like your roommate who can sing, the guy who paints, or the person who can memorize the entire book of Mark and recite it flawlessly. I wanted one of those tangible, measurable gifts that others could look at and say ‘wow!’
Rubbing shoulders with classmates and instructors oftentimes left me feeling flawed and insufficient. I wasn’t good enough, devoted enough, spiritual enough, talented enough, athletic enough...and it ate away at my heart. I joked that God made me the ‘jack-of-all-trades’ when it came to gifts as I could do most things well enough to get by, but deep down there was resentment growing as I longed for a piece of what everyone else had.
I recall filling out a Network text some time during my first year and feeling flustered and envious when I couldn’t pin point anything specific that was life-giving for me, outside of the seemingly broad and open-ended answer of people. There was no measurable task or set of skills that I could master, no clear-cut job description that fit with my passion for others, and I was left disheartened and feeling very looked over by the Giver. How was I ever going to master something if I couldn’t even find a niche?
Yet in this absence of measurable, definable, clear-cut gifting the Lord drew me to himself. As the years passed at Bethany and beyond I have been challenged to find my identity not in a thing, but in the Giver himself. Slowly I have realized how tempting it is to try and define myself by what I do rather than whose I am. In allowing myself to focus on loving God and being obedient to his calling, he has led me from Bethany to Providence Seminary where I graduated with an M.A. Counselling degree. Finding my rooting first and foremost as a child of God has provided the foundation I need to be able to do my job well, and has alleviated any pressure of perfection. Presently I am loving God and using my gift of love for people in my role as a therapist in the city I now reside with my husband and two young children.
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