Vance Havner used to say, “We all need to come apart before we come apart.” What wisdom there is in those few words! Havner would then use Jesus as the ultimate example: He would withdraw Himself for periods of time to be refreshed and renewed. He set the example for His followers in doing so.

Where do you go to “come apart”? What is that special place that you retreat to for a season of renewal? Anyone who knows me at all knows that my go to place is pretty much anywhere in the mountains. I have spent time in the Great Smoky Mountains, the Blue Ridge Mountains, the Appalachians, the Ozarks, the Rockies, and the Grand Tetons. I have seen the majestic peaks of Switzerland glistening in the sun above the clouds below as I flew to Germany. I have witnessed the grandeur of the mountains of Romania, Hungary, and Transylvania. There is something about the towering peaks of mountains that calms my spirit, and centers my thoughts on the One who created that unbelievable beauty.

But there is one very special place that I love to go to for times of spiritual, mental, and physical renewal. Fruitland Baptist Bible College is that most wonderful place, and I find myself drawn to it more and more as I grow older. I remember to this day the very first time I set my feet on Fruitland soil. God had graciously and gloriously saved me, and then called me into ministry. My pastor told me that I should check into attending Fruitland Baptist Bible College (Institute, as it was then), nestled in the rolling hills near Hendersonville, NC. He then took a day out of his busy schedule to drive me up to Fruitland, to spend a day visiting classes, talking to students, and speaking with professors.

As we pulled into the parking lot that day, I knew from the moment I stepped out of the car that this was where God wanted me to spend the next two years of my life. I had never been so certain of anything as I was of that. And so began the journey that has now spanned over forty years. I was so privileged to sit under the tutelage of those spiritual giants who invested their lives into the lives of those young “preacher boys” who had felt the same spiritual urging as had I.

Beyond my two years at Fruitland I furthered my education by attending Wingate University, Criswell College, and Trinity Theological Seminary. But now, after all these years, as I look back over my educational journey, I must say that what I received at Fruitland gave me the solid foundation upon which the furtherance of that journey rested. I am forever thankful for those two precious years.

I remember clearly a conversation I had with my wife as the time of my graduation from Fruitland grew close. I said to her that I hoped there would be the day that I would be able to teach on that campus, and prayerfully be a blessing to students as my professors had been to me. And now, for the past two decades, I have been privileged to teach in these same hallowed halls. Some of the classes I have taught have been on the Fruitland campus, while others have been at the satellite campus in Monroe, NC, while still others have been taught online. But to have the opportunity to put back to some degree what I received at this wonderful place is a blessing beyond words.

So, when I need to come apart before I come apart, I flee to Fruitland. I certainly don’t get to go to the campus as often as I would like, but it is my very special place. It is there, like no other place in my life, where I can go to be refreshed in God’s Spirit. It is there that I sense the presence of God like no other place I have ever been.

I just returned home from Fruitland today. My good friend, Ben Tackett, librarian and professor of computer science, invited me to speak in chapel, so Teresa and I made our way up the mountain to once again spend some precious time at my go-to place. If you have never visited this beautiful campus nestled in those majestic rolling hills, let me encourage you to do so. It will be time well spent, and you will be spiritually refreshed for having come apart, before you come apart.