Stories of Encouragement: Lyndi Shepard
March 23, 2020
(Lyndi Shepard is majoring in Office Administration with a Women’s Ministries emphasis at Faith. She was scheduled to complete her on-campus courses this spring and the rest of her degree online next fall. We sat down with Lyndi last week and got her thoughts on the abrupt ending to the school year).
As one of the best female athletes in school history, Lyndi Shepard has rarely let an opponent discourage her. Even after the difficult news that students had to go home early for the semester last week, every indication is, she’s not about to let all of the negative news about coronavirus beat her down either.
While Lyndi and her friends can no longer be on campus together, she remains determined to deepen her relationships and discipleship opportunities, even if that has to be done through non-traditional methods. Lyndi says she will miss the one-on-one relationships and discipleship on campus, but she is determined to keep those relationships up through social media.
“I was doing a couple of Bible studies with some girls, and we are planning to do that still,” said Lyndi. “We’ll do group chats and video chats, do times of prayer together on video chat, give updates on life, and just talk. Hopefully, we can carry that trend over to a soccer group chat, or a basketball group chat, too.”
Lyndi believes her dedication to keeping up relationships through social media the rest of the year will pay dividends in the future.
“I know that I need to be intentional about keeping up with people over social media, and I think that will be a good transition over to graduation because it will help solidify friendships. And it’s on everyone’s radar to be purposeful in keeping up with each other over the next eight weeks.”
Lyndi has another special relationship that has become an unexpected long-distance relationship for the next few months. She is engaged to Willie Felderman, a 2017 Faith graduate, with a wedding scheduled for August 8, 2020. Like many brides-to-be, Lyndi is a little nervous about how coronavirus might affect that wedding date.
“What I’ve been telling everyone is, ‘hopefully, we are getting married no later than August 8,’” said Lyndi. “I don’t want to postpone the wedding, but we may have to alter some things.”
Lyndi was a resident assistant at Faith this year, so the last week was especially challenging with the abrupt ending to the semester, getting everyone checked out of dorms, and preparing for her own departure back to Michigan for the rest of the school year.
“It’s been really hard to process,” said Lyndi. “Monday was a very emotional day, having everything change so quickly. A lot of my thoughts were going to the transition and the steps that needed to be taken with that as RA’s, and also that it was my last time being a student at Faith, and the last time being in the dorms.”
It’s been an emotional last 30 days in general for Lyndi, who played the last athletic game of her collegiate career in late February. She finished her soccer career this fall as the school’s all-time leader in goals and was named a First Team All-American. She was also a three-year starter on the basketball team, averaging 14.1 points per game for her career. Lyndi’s last basketball game was February 22. She made five three-pointers and scored 19 points.
“I got emotional in the last minute and a half,” said Lyndi. “Most of the game, I didn’t even think about it, but then the last minute and a half, I couldn’t even see anymore because I was crying so much.”
While she would much prefer classroom instruction, Lyndi is making the move to online learning in stride and looking at the situation from a glass-half-full perspective.
“I’m really thankful it will be live because it’s going to feel more personal,” said Lyndi. “It will help keep us on schedule. I have one class that is discussion-based, and I think it will be enjoyable to still have that. I’m sure we will share what’s going on in our lives.”
Whether it is on the playing field as an athlete, in the classroom as a student, or in the dorms as a room leader, Lyndi Shepard’s positive outlook, mentality of discipleship, and competitive nature are qualities we can all strive for as we navigate the unknowns of life.