And now we rest

We're done! Believe it or not, this journey that began four years ago is coming to a close, and soon a new one will begin. Today, we attended our last class and turned in our last paper as seminary students. As with our classmate, David, it has not really sunk in that on Monday there will be no classes, there are no more books that have to be read, and no more papers to write.

Instead, next week will be some rest, some yard work and house cleaning to prepare for guests on graduation day, and a few errands. On Thursday, the alumni come to campus for a full day of events (some of which include graduating seniors). Thursday evening is baccalaureate, and then Friday morning will be graduation. A long two days, and at the end of them, we will really be done - degrees in hand and everything.

It has been a long journey. Even though this blog has not existed for all four years, many of you who read this have followed our journey from the beginning; others have followed since we went to the Gulf Coast in December of 2005 and began the blog. It has been hard, it has been rewarding, is has been uplifting, and through it all - we continue to be blessed by God and led by the Holy Spirit.

One of the common questions throughout the seminary journey is, "Do you still feel called to ministry?" I think I can firmly state, that for both of us, this continues to be true and has not diminished over the entire four years. Our faith, your prayers, and God's steadfast love have sustained us over many hurdles and through many dark moments. And now - the day is at hand. On May 9, we will be graduates and waiting a call to be pastors.

Oh -you ask. How is the call process going? About the same. We have had a very busy schedule and not really available to do much. Once graduation is over, maybe things will start to roll along. A few preaching opportunities lie ahead of us, and the North Carolina Synod assembly is coming up, so we will be kept busy at least into June.

And now - time to put our feet up and spoil the dog some (he has missed us the last couple of weeks while we were typing our last papers).