Seminary

As I sat in orientation for three days at George Fox Evangelical Seminary, I marveled at God's goodness. I have applied to graduate school four times in my life. I've been admitted to graduate school four times in my life. But for the FIRST time in my life, I have actually enrolled in graduate school.

We began each day in worship, and tears spilled out of my eyes because I could not contain my joy. My classes will not only change and challenge me personally, they will inform my ministry and equip me for the kingdom work before me. 

On Wednesday, each of our professors introduced themselves to us by sharing a bit about their personal interests and their research. Each one brings a wealth of wisdom and experience to the classroom, and each one appears to be sincerely passionate about the person of Jesus and his love for our world.

But the thing that I most appreciated about the orientation was getting to meet the other students in my cohort. Though we live all over the world, these are the 24 people with whom I will share a virtual classroom. These are the ones with whom I will wrestle, explore, discover, and be deconstructed. These are the ones that will challenge me, encourage me, teach me, and inspire me. And here's the thing: they are some of the coolest people I have ever met. I've only begun to know them, but I can already tell that my seminary experience will be richer, sweeter, and deeper because of their companionship. 

I was chatting with a friend the morning before I left for my first day at George Fox, and I said to her, "I hope I make a friend." 

I think I did.

I might have made 24!

I am SO excited about my classes. This semester I have four: Old Testament 1, Missional Ecclesiology, Knowing Self/Knowing God, and an Internship. I have piles of books that I get to read and I can hardly wait to crack the spines. I'm a little intimidated at the idea of writing reasearch papers--but I'm also strangely eager to write academically after writing professionally for so many years. All of this to say, friends, I'm living a dream.

And I am deeply grateful. 

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