Student Story: Rebekah

An investment for the wilderness - Rebekah reflects on the value of her study at MAC

When Rebekah Dredge was diagnosed with a major, life-altering medical condition, it was her studies at Mary Andrews College that gave her the theological foundations to carry her through a devastating time of her life. 

A few years earlier, Rebekah had found herself at a crossroads where she no longer needed to work in her career as a Speech Pathologist. She leapt at the opportunity to complete a Diploma of Theology at MAC. A season of equipping was the perfect antidote to the ministry burnout that had been creeping in, and fulfilled a long held dream to pursue theological study. 

After looking into several options, MAC stood out as the clear choice. It had been twenty years since Rebekah had last studied formally, and she was nervous about returning to the classroom and completing assignments, but the culture at MAC put these fears to rest. Rebekah shares, “I went to morning tea with a friend who had done a subject at MAC, and it struck me as a very supportive learning environment for people like me… A big majority of the cohort were returning to study after a hiatus.” She found that MAC provided the perfect balance of academic challenge and support. 

Rebekah and her family

The community at MAC was another point of attraction. “It was such a lovely opportunity to learn with women, from women,” says Rebekah. Together, students of all ages connected over not just what they were learning, but also living as Christian women, parenting and more. 

Rebekah quickly found she enjoyed reading and wrestling with ideas through her study. It allowed her to diagnose the cause of her ministry burnout. “I was finding my identity in my ministry,” she admits. “I saw myself as indispensable to God’s plan for His people.” 

But it wasn’t until after she’d graduated that the concepts she’d learned at MAC came to life in an entirely new way. 

In September 2022, Rebekah was diagnosed with a very rare spinal cord tumour. Mild symptoms meant that the slow-growing mass had gone undetected for years, but it had become so large that it threatened to leave Rebekah 51 with quadriplegia. Yet the alternative was major surgery with a 50 per cent chance of leaving her severely disabled. 

A whirlwind of appointments later, Rebekah was scheduled for surgery just three weeks after her diagnosis. With her life turned upside down, she found herself reflecting on the nature of submission. “You realise how we have very little control over our lives and destiny, and that ultimately, God is in control.” 

The night before her surgery, she discovered she couldn’t bring herself to pray. “I was thinking a lot about submission, and Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane praying ‘Your will be done’. And I actually couldn’t pray that,” she says. 

Instead, Rebekah drew her comfort from knowing that her church was praying for her when she couldn’t. Her time at MAC had taught her about the unity of God’s people through Christ. With this understanding, she was able to trust the prayers of His people to carry her through an immensely difficult experience. She recalls that the night before her surgery, “Rather than praying, I was counting the number of people praying for me. It struck me that it was like counting sheep, only I was counting God’s sheep, the flock of the Good Shepherd. And that gave me enormous encouragement and comfort to be a part of the body of Christ in my distress.” 

Rebekah’s surgery was immediately followed by three long days in the Intensive Care Unit that were both terrifying and lonely. To ensure the best possible outcome, she needed to lie flat to prevent possible spinal fluid leaks and promote healing in her spinal cord. 

Despite early signs of success from the surgery, this experience in the ICU continued to make prayer difficult. This time she turned to the concepts she’d learned from studying the Psalms at MAC. 

She reflects, “My entry level to communing with God was to complain like a psalmist… I started with Psalm 22, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’ And in praying through these things and laying out my complaints to God I had the realisation that I shared those words with Jesus Himself, who entered the pit in order to rescue His people.” 

“I’ve been processing a lot of my own personal journey out loud with the class in the context of trying to understand disability from a theological perspective.”

Rebekah’s confidence in turning to the Psalms came directly from her time at MAC. She explains, “We talked a lot about lament [at MAC]… how the psalmists are just so honest about their emotions before God, and often the psalmist comes full circle and commits himself once more to trusting in God. And that was certainly my pattern of prayer that night in the ICU.” 

God, in His grace, answered the prayers of Rebekah’s family and church, and Rebekah was able to walk out of the hospital six weeks later with mobility in all her limbs. Her recovery continues as she navigates chronic pain and the new limitations of her body. 

Rebekah has also returned to MAC this year, taking up a special discount offer for alumni to audit a unit on Disability and the People of God with Dr Louise Gosbell. “It’s been a really helpful time to process my new limitations within a theological context,” she shares. “I’ve been processing a lot of my own personal journey out loud with the class in the context of trying to understand disability from a theological perspective.” 

Rebekah credits studying at MAC and the encouragement of her lecturers with giving her the confidence to pursue further study. She has enrolled in a Master of Divinity which she is completing online, though her recent health issues have slowed down her progress a bit. 

Rebekah is deeply grateful for her experiences at MAC, and actively recommends the College to other women considering theological study. “My diploma turned out to be a valuable investment for a time in the wilderness. While there are still physical and spiritual struggles, looking back at God’s handiwork helps me to trust Him with my future.”

This story was first published in the ADM 2023 Annual Report