Jordan Benda

January 8th, 2017 meant girls would run into the rooms of eight different sororities celebrating their new-found families. Throughout the week of Recruitment, I wanted to be a light to the girls around me with my words and actions. I wanted every girl I talked to in line and in each room to know that they were so loved and adored. As the week went on it was clear that there were many more girls who desired to do the same. And the best part was that every Chi O I talked with made me feel loved and adored. When I ran into Chi Omega’s room on Bid Day I didn’t recognize many faces, but I did recognize the love of Christ.

Coming back to school after a semester of feeling alone, I found belonging in Chi Omega because these girls know how to love well. 1 John 4:19 says it so simply,

We love, because He first loved us.

The wonderful women of Chi O loved me well during Recruitment, through the New Member process, and will continue to make me, as well as every girl that becomes a Chi O, feel loved for years to come. It is beautiful to see a group of girls live out the Gospel with immense authenticity. They reminded me that being alone didn’t mean I had to dwell in loneliness because the One who raised Jesus from the dead is living inside me, and that brought so much comfort and freedom. Active members took us, Member Class ’17, under their wings (Hootie Hoot!) and served us well affirming my choice to go Chi O.

Chi O has shown me that God uses times of unfamiliarity to bring us closer to Him when we are willing to lay down our own life. I was used to knowing everyone in high school, but being only one girl out of over 300 amazing Chi Os who I knew very few of, I quickly learned that I was not in my comfort zone. God used this time to remind me that my confidence comes solely from He who has called me to live in His presence and place my identity in Him. Proverbs 20:5 tells us,

A plan in the heart of a (woman) is like deep water, but a (woman) of understanding draws it out.

I was in a very new and unfamiliar situation feeling overwhelmed by not knowing how to be myself when I am normally so confident. But Chi Omegas are women of understanding. They met me right where I was at, sharing similar feelings, and drawing out my fears and uncertainties by replacing it with grounded Truth. The greatest part about this opportunity was that I was immediately encouraged to be vulnerable and unapologetically myself by those surrounding me, who have become the biggest lights in my life. I quickly forget that we are meant to live in community as the body of believers, but Chi Omega has quickly become a continual reminder of what community looks when Jesus is our cornerstone.

Being in Chi Omega has impacted my life because I have learned what it means to love without boundaries, to live unashamedly, and to be womanly always. So thank you women of Chi Omega for pursuing my heart like Jesus does every day. I love you dearly.