Northwestern College | Classic - Winter 2003-04

N o r t h w e s t e r n C l a s s i cP a re n t of sthe Ye a rTeaching Tru s tSmits model faith in the face of adversityby Anita Ciru l i sJim and Sharon (Mol) Smits admit the past 16 monthshave been difficult. First there was the loss of a job, then thedeath of two parents and a diagnosis of cancer. How theyresponded to adversity earned them the admiration andrespect of their children—and the honor of being namedN o rt h w e s t e rn College’s Parents of the Year for 2003.“Not only did our parents tell us what to do in times oft rouble, they showed us,” wrote the Smits’ daughters, Andre aand Maria, in their nomination letter. “Our parents deserv ethis award. Not because they are perfect parents or have perfectkids, but because they have given us a gift much gre a t e r :an example of trust in our perfect Lord . ”N o rt h w e s t e rn recognized the Smits during Pare n t s ’Weekend in October. Residents of Orange City, Jim andS h a ron grew up in Maurice and Sioux Center, re s p e c t i v e l y.They met through an area youth ministry and married in1 9 7 5 .Jim is a sales re p resentative for Roda Manufacturing inHull; Sharon, a psychotherapist for Bethesda ChristianCounseling in Orange City. They also are the parents of fivec h i l d ren ranging in age from 18 to 27—four of whom followedtheir mother’s footsteps to Nort h w e s t e rn. Angela, theoldest, graduated in 1998, while Andrea Hydeen, a senior;Maria, a sophomore; and Melinda, a freshman, all are attendingNort h w e s t e rn this year.S h a ron graduated from NWC in 1979 with a degree inChristian education and earned a Master of Social Wo r kd e g ree from the University of Nebraska at Omaha.Since freshmen are n ’t eligible to make nominations forP a rents of the Ye a r, it was Andrea and Maria who told theirf a m i l y ’s story to the award committee: Not only did theirfather endure six months of unemployment before finding hisp resent job, but simultaneously, their mother was diagnosedwith breast cancer. Surg e ry, chemotherapy and radiation followed.Added to this were the deaths of two grandpare n t s —S h a ro n ’s dad and Jim’s mother—and an apartment fire thatd e s t royed the belongings of their bro t h e r.“ We’ve gone through some hard times as a family together,” says Jim, “but they’ve really brought us closer to eachother and to God.”“My parents have taught us so much about loving eachThe daughters of Parents of the Year Jim and Sharon Smits– –N o rt h w e s t e rn seniorA n d rea Hydeen, freshman Melinda, sophomore Maria and 1998 graduate Angela( f rom left)– –say the trials that their family endured brought them closer to eachother and to the Lord .o t h e r,” Melinda agrees. “They’ve shown just an awesomeexample of having a married life and being able to focus onGod and loving each other through the hard times andt h rough the good times.”She and her brother and sisters also appreciate the goodcommunication their parents modeled for them, as well as theencouragement to discover their own separate identities.“One of the things we d i d t ry to do is to have each of thekids be their own individual,” Sharon says. “We tried hard notto compare them to each other and to have each one explorewhat they felt their own talents were . ”The Smits are quick to praise their children for the kindof people they’ve become, describing them as “wonderf u l ”and themselves as “blessed” to be their pare n t s .“When any of us would get any recognition or anyonewould compliment them, they wouldn’t take any cre d i t , ”A n d rea says. “They don’t want to take any recognition forwhat we do, but we know it has a lot to do with how they’veraised us and what they’ve taught us.”The Smits also give credit to Nort h w e s t e rn for the ro l ethe college has played in their daughters’ lives. “They knew itwas a great experience for me,” Sharon says of their decisionto attend her alma mater. “I wasn’t told what to believe. Eventhough it was a Christian college, we were given the fre e d o mto question and to make our faith our own.”Youngest daughter Melinda agrees. “I’ve just seen whatcontinued on page 119 ▲ W i n t e r 2 0 0 3 - 0 4