Testimonies of Redeemer

I had the chance to interview Caleb Bosveld, a third-year Business major and transfer student, about how his walk with God has been up until now.

Born in Chatham, Ontario, Caleb’s family moved to Hamilton when he was six. He was raised in a Christian home, but when he was younger he felt like being Christian seemed more like “going through the motions”. As he grew older and became more analytical, he sought to find out whether God existed or not. Eventually, he concluded, “…it just made more sense that … there is a Creator,” versus things just coming into existence by chance. “…And Christianity was the best explanation for that Creator.” Historical evidence and biblical manuscripts convinced him that Jesus was a real man. From then on, Caleb sought to discover how to make his faith his own.

At sixteen, Caleb made his Profession of Faith in the Christian Reformed Church. The classes leading up to it gave him a stronger foundation in his beliefs and helped him understand why he believed what he did. Later, when it came time to choose a college, he found himself learning how to listen to God’s voice and follow His direction. 

Caleb had wanted to play volleyball at Redeemer ever since he came to the games when he was younger, but due to circumstances at the time of graduation, Caleb applied for colleges elsewhere, including schools in the United States. 

Offers began to roll in from schools all over North America. He planned to commit to a college in Oakville, Ontario, but a school in Georgia was aggressively pursuing him. Although the school’s volleyball program was not the greatest, Caleb decided to take a trip down to Georgia to check out the school anyways. 

Along with his dad (a Redeemer Alumni), Caleb travelled down to Georgia and was met with warm southern hospitality. They found the program wasn’t only about playing volleyball, “but creating men of God.” One of the first questions Caleb was asked by a team member was, “How’s your faith?” This stood out to him.

Caleb liked this part of the school but being very competitive, he couldn’t ignore the fact the team wasn’t successful in volleyball. During their trip, there was a women’s volleyball tournament going on. “[My dad and I] were walking there and it wasn’t really raining that day but there was a rainbow that was coming from, well what it looked like anyways, from right above the volleyball arena.

“My dad kind of off handedly said ‘maybe it’s a sign.’ I didn’t think about it much at the time,” but upon praying about what college to commit to, Caleb remembered the rainbow, and thought, “Maybe it was a sign.”

“I felt this pull that I couldn’t explain to that school. I thought if I’m so attracted to the idea of going down here, God has to be working in my heart.”

He committed to the school. The first year, though difficult, caused his faith to grow in ways it might not have if he stayed close to home. 

“Just having the opportunity to really step out of my comfort zone, just me on my own with nobody that I knew, and then God, really leaning on God to provide. …If I got overwhelmed by academics, sports or social life, and just making new friends, the only person there to lean on was God.

“They had a beautiful cross at the top of a hill… There was a nice area to sit there. I would go up and do devotions every morning, and those times were probably the times I felt closest to God. Just being able to be up there in the quiet looking over these forested mountains, just beautiful, you can see the sunrise and sunset –It was so awesome to see how God was working in my life at that time and how He brought me down to the States.

“I had a devotional book that would take me through …different meditations and prayers. …it had a free prayer section, and a guided prayer section.” Having a simple devotion where the primary focus was talking to God freely was important to Caleb, “because sometimes I feel like my devotion habits can get rigid. If it’s just reading a passage and thinking about it, that’s not really a relationship with Christ. Though it’s important, it shouldn’t be the only thing that you’re doing. To simply talk to God,” Caleb stated, “That is a big part about seeking Him and finding out who He is.”

Though sometimes Caleb would doubt. “‘Was I really supposed to be here?’ We were getting pounded in every game we were playing, am I wasting my career down here?” Caleb had to learn to trust that God had a plan for him while he was there, even through the uncertainty.

After the first year, many guys on the team either graduated or quit, and because volleyball isn’t very popular for men in the Southern States, it was hard to know if the team would continue. “At the time [my dad] was doing some recruiting for Redeemer, I asked the coaches if I could get my dad on board as a recruiter,” willing to work this position as a volunteer. The following year they were able to recruit the same amount of players to the team as the amount that had left. If they hadn’t, the team would probably cease to exist.

Young men joined the team, some Chrsitian, some not, yet some have come to know Christ and be baptized. In addition to this, the coach in those two years Caleb was there ended up retiring. However, Caleb’s father was able to help recruit a coach who moved with his family in  Georgia all the way from New York. Then after two years at the school, Caleb felt God didn’t need him there as much anymore and was calling him home. 

He loved playing volleyball, but he didn’t love it enough to be so far from his family, friends and community at home. His first nephew was born while he was in the States, and with his nephew growing up so fast and his parents aging, Caleb didn’t want to be away to miss it. Looking back, Caleb saw how God placed him in a situation where He knew He could use him: “Even if it was just a placeholder for him to bring in some other guys so they could learn about God.”

“Seeing how God can see the big picture, obviously because He’s all knowing, and He’s able to move those pieces–you can’t see it until after–and I probably still will never know the full impact of that until I pass …but it’s really cool to see.”

Nearing the end of his second year things started to open up, and Caleb transferred to Redeemer, and decided to come home. 

In life it’s hard to know if the decisions we make are the ones God called us to, until we look back and see how God was carefully orchestrating our steps. I believe this is the Christian walk, that faith must come before certainty. And trusting in God will not only allow Him to guide us and use us for His glory, but allow us to experience more of His beauty, grace and love. It enriches our relationship with Jesus, and brings meaning to our life. 

For Caleb, God was calling him home. I believe all people are called to this place as well: to an intimate relationship with God, a place where we can go and stay and be His children, to listen and follow the beautiful sound of His voice, and to sit with Him and gaze in awe at His creation. 

God is calling you to come home too and be with Him.