This afternoon over smoldering smores at Cosi, some friends voiced their concern of my sporadic postings, claiming that the frequency of my writing has slowly declined in the past weeks. I would like to suggest that maybe . . . just maybe this could be attributed to the oppression of the system of higher education upon defenseless graduate students during finals week . . . or perhaps I was just lazy!
At any rate, this posting is dedicated to you Katie and Lisa, for all the times I abandoned you, left you hanging on the development of my life, for all the times I chose my theology text books over you. My New Year’s resolution is to cater to the appetite that the era of reality television has imposed upon you! Okay, just kidding! Honestly, I have to say, I never realized so many people actually read my blog! After all my life is nothing special, just the everyday escapades of a 23 year old, constantly on the look out for what’s next and insistently happening upon it when I cease looking!
I have to switch subjects to share with you all that I am currently watching VH1’s “I Love the 90’s.” It totally reminds me of our attempt at the “Back in the Day” dance we held at the Newman Center when we were convinced that a dance that commemorated our childhood in which we wanted to “remember when . . . the 90’s,” would be a HUGE hit. Okay, maybe it wasn’t “huge” but hey, it gave us an excuse to do the running man and not be ridiculed for it, right?
Okay, it’s getting late and I want to get this posting up before midnight since I promised you two that I would post today! Plus, as I posted before, the “oppression” of the system of higher education already began imposing upon me for next semester and I have a bit of reading and reflecting to get to!
Signing off, grateful for my friends! And in remembrance of our college days, “Peace out, Rainbow trout!”
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
Monday, December 18, 2006
He'll Be Faithful To Complete It
Something I have discovered through the fire and brim stone of this semester is that the study of God takes a lot of faith! You become aware of the good, the bad and the ugly and through it all you have to continue to discover who you are and why you are doing what you are doing!
A couple weeks ago I shared with my pastor, Fr. Meehan, that I was struggling with studying my faith, because when you put your faith under the microscope all its imperfections suddenly engulf you and you begin to drown in doubt. I shared that I was learning to separate my faith from my studies so that I could hold onto my spirituality in a world of academia. I thought this was the thing to do. Fr. Meehan voiced his concern with my decision and offered an alternative. He suggested that instead of separating the two, begin with a prayer that the things God intends for my spirituality through my studies will become evident. What I didn't realize until this point was that completely separating the two was like separating Siamese twins that share a heart; one will inevitably die. By connecting the two I am allowing God to work within me yet sifting though what is unhelpful to my spiritual life.
Finals week was another time of trial! For a person like me who suffers from test anxiety, taking a test that is accounting for 65% of your final grade is like facing the lions in the arena of the coliseum! As I am writing this it is obvious that I have survived, but I must emphasize that it was only barely! Last week's second reading contained the verse, "He who began a good work, will be faithful to complete it in you." This became my mantra for the week! I kept trying to remind myself that God was the one that brought me to this point in my life and God would not let me down! I don't mean to suggest that I did not have to work because God was handling it, I simple offer the opinion that if I do my part than God will sure help me through it and together I will proceed to walk the path before me!
Next semester's stress, although it should not be as encompassing as this past four months, has already begun with an emailed assignment from my professor for the first day of class: a book and reflection paper! UGH! I just keep saying, "He who began a good work, will be faithful to complete it in me!"
A couple weeks ago I shared with my pastor, Fr. Meehan, that I was struggling with studying my faith, because when you put your faith under the microscope all its imperfections suddenly engulf you and you begin to drown in doubt. I shared that I was learning to separate my faith from my studies so that I could hold onto my spirituality in a world of academia. I thought this was the thing to do. Fr. Meehan voiced his concern with my decision and offered an alternative. He suggested that instead of separating the two, begin with a prayer that the things God intends for my spirituality through my studies will become evident. What I didn't realize until this point was that completely separating the two was like separating Siamese twins that share a heart; one will inevitably die. By connecting the two I am allowing God to work within me yet sifting though what is unhelpful to my spiritual life.
Finals week was another time of trial! For a person like me who suffers from test anxiety, taking a test that is accounting for 65% of your final grade is like facing the lions in the arena of the coliseum! As I am writing this it is obvious that I have survived, but I must emphasize that it was only barely! Last week's second reading contained the verse, "He who began a good work, will be faithful to complete it in you." This became my mantra for the week! I kept trying to remind myself that God was the one that brought me to this point in my life and God would not let me down! I don't mean to suggest that I did not have to work because God was handling it, I simple offer the opinion that if I do my part than God will sure help me through it and together I will proceed to walk the path before me!
Next semester's stress, although it should not be as encompassing as this past four months, has already begun with an emailed assignment from my professor for the first day of class: a book and reflection paper! UGH! I just keep saying, "He who began a good work, will be faithful to complete it in me!"
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