Last week, I wrapped up my first year of seminary. It was both a beautiful and challenging year. 

I worked full time during the week…then wrote Hebrew Bible Exegesis papers until 2 am.

Alvan and I took Aria to visit parks and birthday parties on the weekends…and I read essays on Paul and Womanist Theology on Saturday nights.

We navigated Covid closures and daycare isolations… and I processed the fact that there are multiple theories of atonement.

We cared for a baby with RSV, and then a stomach virus… while I wrote a paper on Gustavo Gutierrez and Liberation Theology.

We hosted Christmas, Easter, and a Birthday party at our house….Then I studied for Greek verb conjugation quizzes.

I cooked countless meals, (that my toddler threw on the floor)…then reviewed Hebrew vocabulary flashcards.

On our way to daycare dropoff, Aria and I listened to songs from Encanto… and on the way home, she heard my Christian History textbook on audible, and learned the history of the Nicene creed and the stories of the early church martyrs.

I missed spending time with some old friends… But gained time with new friends who have easily become “my people.” 

I lost some orthodoxy that I’d held on so tight to…but gained a deeper sense of the vastness of God and His kingdom.

I’ve learned that we can believe scripture is true, but need to regularly be reminded that it is not simple.

My faith was shaken, but “the things that cannot be shaken, remain.”

At some point during the year, I began to think that all of this was crazy and that I should probably stop and do something more reasonable….

And the next day a received notice that the faculty awarded me with a fellowship that would pay for the remainder of my MDiv. 

It was a beautifully challenging year, but God is still good, and I am grateful. 

Looking forward to next year!