Judith Wright Lott: Dean of The Louise Herrington School of Nursing, Associate Professor of Nursing

What time or circumstance shaped your life most and why?

This may seem like a simple question, but the older I get, the more I realize that there are no simple questions about life. If I'd been asked this question three years ago, several events would have come immediately to mind: our wedding, the births of our two children and my career. But two years ago, our 20-year-old son died, and my life changed irrevocably. The inexpressible pain and loss caused by the death of a child is certainly a life-shaping event. I asked myself so many times, "How can I live in a world without Blake?" Yet, I did continue to live. I have a daughter, a husband, other family members, friends and responsibilities. Contrary to what you may have heard, a broken heart won't kill you, but it can make your life not worth living. As I attempted to deal with Blake's death, I realized that because of another life-shaping event, I can continue to live and be reasonably happy and productive. I was 7 years old and attending Vacation Bible School at Springfield Baptist Church, a little country church about a quarter of a mile from my house in south Georgia. After VBS was over for the day, the Rev. Ray Gould asked to talk to me; he told my mama he'd bring me home in time for lunch. Rev. Ray told me that Jesus had died for my sins and wanted me to give my heart to him. As he prayed for me, I accepted Christ. I was baptized soon after that in the muddy waters of Howard's Mill Pond. That "event" surely shaped my life on earth and in heaven. But remember, I said earlier that nothing about life is simple. My life also was shaped because I had a mother who made sure that I was in church, and because our church leaders held VBS every year and because the Rev. Ray Gould gave of his time to travel all the way from Marianna, Fla., to get to that little church, and ... . You get the idea. I am at Baylor not because it was always in my plan, but because it was God's plan. I believe that if we do the best we can, God will take care of the rest. Paul told the Corinthians, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'" The gift of God's grace has shaped my life.