Finished...but not really.

Yesterday I graduated from George W. Truett Theological Seminary. It has been a five year journey--well worth it. I have learned more about life and love and scripture than I ever could have hoped to know before entering. I have been changed for the better (at least, in my opinion).

And yet, I know this is not the end of the journey in learning, but the beginning. I have so much more to learn. So many things I want to learn. So many other fields I want to explore. In fact, I told three or four professors that I would be back in three to four years to begin work on a doctorate at Truett. I am already thinking about possible projects and areas of study.

So, now, it is off to find a place to serve full-time where I can use what knowledge I have and gain more knowledge along the way.

Reflection

I spent last night with an amazing group of teenagers at Immanuel Lutheran in Killeen. Vicar Heidi asked me to be an adult presence and I am more than grateful for the opportunity. Below are some of my reflections from the night and from life in recent days--written down between 3-4am when everyone started to fade. I am not much of a poet, but it seemed to be the most natural way to reflect and express the things I saw and felt. I may go back at a later date and work on them in terms of wording and literary technique, but for now I leave them as they came to me. Grace and Peace.


Light

It’s all around but rarely seen
The darkness comes and crowds it out
Glimmers and sparkles flicker dim
In this world of pain and sorrow

The Light is bigger, stronger, brighter
It shines in the midnight
Gives sight in the day
Makes things whole, puts the dark to flight.



Tears

A parent with cancer
A family split apart
Grieving friends left behind

Bitterness of heart
Aches without any words
Wounds that do not heal

Fears about the future
A Dad who lost his legs
Anger for injustice

And in the silence
Surrounded by candle light
Sniffles are heard and shared.