Abby Bitterling, Englewood’s Girls’ Director, made her way through the busy campus coffee shop, stopping at each table to mingle. Everyone in the place seemed to know her. She walked back to my table after all of the hello’s.
“I love coming back on campus, but you know sometimes it hits me with a weird sense of stability,” Bitterling said. “I loved my time here, but I’m not meant to be here anymore, you know?”
I nod my head in agreement as a senior in my last semester. That might be the biggest challenge of leaving, not randomly seeing all the people you love every day.
Just a year ago, before she’d graduated, Bitterling was a digital media communications major, an active member of Greek Life, and participated in student government. She kept busy, which hasn’t changed one bit now that she’s graduated and enjoying married-adult-real-life life.
“It’s a whole new season of busyness. It’s different from the busyness of homework or tests, but it’s more of the things I wanna do,” Bitterling said. “Planning, meeting with girls, mentorship work, working with the media team. Especially around Christmas. So many dinners, it felt like me and [my husband] were going to something every weekend. I love it.”
Honestly, this was insanely comforting to hear. It’s always nice when a recent grad, bogged down with busyness, is overjoyed with the idea of dedicating time to their craft. Bitterling is no exception. She handles the busyness like a boss, all while pouring into young ladies with the fruit of the spirit. She is currently the student ministry girls’ director at Englewood Baptist church here in Jackson.
“I get to basically hang out with 6th through 12th grade girls almost everyday. It’s super fun. A usual week looks like this: Sunday and Wednesday, of course are Scripture and actual preaching, but then throughout the week if the girls are free, I get to go have a meal or grab coffee. Just anything to catch up and pray over them.”
Even though she has her fair share of regular office work, she is getting to do her two biggest passions: discipleship and event planning. She celebrates being able to work so closely with young women as they form these fundamental relationships with Christ. I found this just so fitting for Bitterling. Each time I would have a class or project with her, she would bring a certain sense of celebration to her work.
“It’s been cool to use my communications background and my art and design background to share the good news of the Lord with these students,” Bitterling said. “I was able to design media packages for girls’ weekends, shirts, and even filmed videos for the media side.”
Seeing her light up when she began talking about all the influences the communication arts department here at Union has done for her really began to calm the senioritis nerves flooding my brain. She was able to take the more logistical teachings and implement them through programming or making new schedules, or even laying out a marketing plan, something she plans to do for the upcoming media season. She’s busy, still, but is adjusting to her new kind of hectic life.
“It is what it is. I have found myself saying that more and more as I’ve moved from college life. In highschool and in college I found myself planning so much and then being upset when the plan would inevitably crumble. It took stepping outside of that plan to draw closer to the Lord.”
Bitterling explained how “it is what it is” truly formed when she was thrown headfirst into a project the first week of work. Right after getting married, settling into a new house, and mourning her college years, Bitterling was asked to plan a mission trip.
“It just took me looking at what was right in front of me. I mean I knew I was gonna get married, I had somewhere to live, I have a wonderful job—it was time to let go and let the Lord take it from there. He was gonna make it his own.”
I also got the chance to speak to Allison Whitworth, a junior communications major, who is currently interning at the Medina campus of Englewood which is where Bitterling started her journey at Englewood. I wanted to see what Whitworth thought of Bitterling’s growth, and how it was to work with someone so close in age, but yet in such different stages of life.
“Watching her work so hard and be so successful at such a young age, it was inspiring,” Whitworth said. “She always shows me how powerful love can be, especially the Lord’s love.”
Bitterling has been plugged in to Englewood since the beginning of her college career, and is now pursuing it as her actual career. She emphasized the importance of being involved in church as a collegiate.
“It’s vital to our identity as Christ bearers, but also it’s vital to these young men and women to have an older generation pour into them. They don’t see you as older, or scarier, but as a like-minded Christ follower. It’s a mutually beneficial relationship.”
