All that keeps rattling through my head is, " 'Twas the night before seminary, and all through the house.....Kelly couldn't stop smiling and was overwhelmed with God's love...." The poetry gets lost a bit in translation, but I definitely couldn't think of anything better that rhymed with "apartment" instead of "house."
Tonight is my first "night before the first day of school" in approximately 11 years. The last time this happened, it was August 2011, and I eagerly - and innocently - awaited the beginning of my senior year of college. Two weeks later, tragedy struck our world, and my life and viewpoints were forever changed. Many more changes have occurred in the world since then - tragedies and joys, challenges faced and opportunities seized, relationships grown and relationships lost, and I could go on. The best part to me in all of this is that the same God who healed our broken hearts and helped create beauty from the ashes back then is the God of the universe who was, is, and is to come still today. Our lives keep changing, but God is God - Amen!
As I prepare to start my 3-year journey of a seminary education, I know I will be changed. I will grow and learn and will hopefully, God-willing, come out on the other side having learned more about myself, others, God, and God's church. I will be tested in my beliefs. My faith will be challenged. My emotions will be on the line, my intellect will question my foundations, and my energy will be exhausted trying to learn and understand the Bible, its original languages, and the history and practical applications of our Christian faith in modern ministry. Yet, when all is said and done. When I don't get the grade I want, when I lose my temper in a heated class discussion, when I walk away feeling dejected, when my family time doesn't seem like enough to get me through, I can - and will - turn to the cross. I will turn to the cross and know the same God who was there before any church history. The same God who was there before the Old Testament was there. The same God who sent Jesus Christ to die on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins. That God is still God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and I am called to know him personally. You are too. We were created to be in relationship with our Creator, and what a beautiful relationship it is!
All praise to God that I have the opportunity to be here in this community. Wherever this time may lead me, my prayer for this season of life, especially, is to live out my time at APTS in a manner such that would make me worthy of the calling that is in me in Christ Jesus.* Thanks be to God!!
(*Paraphrased from Ephesians 4: 1-6)
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