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The Namesake of this Blog

So, the work at school is piling up and coming to an end, so obviously I feel like writing blogs a lot more.

I was thinking about this as I sit with my notes for a sermon on Luke in front of me and I am wondering why, in the busiest times of the year work wise, I feel the most compelled to write blogs. Then I realized, it's because it is the time where I am having to figure out all my thoughts from the term. I'm looking over all my notes and re-reading what I've underlined in texts and I'm thinking about the application of all of it in my life.

My last counselling assignment was due this past week, so all that fun is over. Now I have before me a lot of biblical and theological writing, which, my friends, is not my forte. I love it, but it takes me longer to think out. I have three pages of notes which I'm hoping will turn into an 8-10 page paper, including sermon notes. I never in my wildest dreams imagined that I would be writing out sermon notes. Right now I'm thinking, "Thank goodness I do not have to present this in front of the class." There are people in my class that have been pastors for over 15 years...preaching in front of them, "no thanks!" (If you've ever seen Enchanted you'll get that quote...)

These past few months have been full of so much learning. The thing that I appreciate most about my education is that I feel like it impacts every single area of my life. The most beautiful thing is that everything can be incorporated and I love that. I was writing a paper the other day on what my approach to counselling would be and a book from my Luke class helped me out, and I was thinking, "Sweet, this is awesome."

God has been teaching me SO much this term. I can only look back at the past couple of months and shake my head in disbelief and wonder. I was e-mailing a friend today who is in Portugal (miss you Jo!) and I was overwhelmed with how much I have learned and the fact that I do not have the words adequate to express the ways that God has shown Himself to me. There is so much that has happened that it is hard to write out without writing a book.

This morning in church I was just sitting there with this joy filling my heart and gratitude just welling up in me. I sat there feeling an inexplicable ...appreciation ...thankfulness ...gratitude ...joy ...hope... love...something...and tears came to my eyes. I was just blown away by God.

God is SO faithful. I smiled and laughed when I wrote that.

This makes it sound like I've had the happiest three months of my life. And yes, while there have been some moments of such overwhelming joy that I have no response but to laugh, there have also been moments of overwhelming sadness. There were some moments where I thought, "OK God, you've got this because I certainly don't." and He always, ALWAYS, came through.

This reminded me of a passage in Micah 7:8 that a friend shared with me a few weeks ago. It says,  "Do not gloat over me, my enemy!
Though I have fallen, I will rise.
Though I sit in darkness,
The Lord will be my light."

Praise God who is our Light. When I read this passage I was obviously reminded of Lord of the Rings (obviously...). Rob and I were watching The Two Towers and a speech that Sam gives struck me so deeply. I think that it really fits with this passage from Micah.


Frodo: I can't do this, Sam.
Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too small to understand why. But I think, Mr. Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.
Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?
Sam: That there's some good in this world, Mr. Frodo... and it's worth fighting for.

In case the depth of that speech didn't hit you. Read it again. Slowly. Let it sink in. I sent that quote to a friend of mine and as we were talking about it she said, "it really drives home how easy it is to forget that the sun... son? does shine out"...which really gets at something else. That it is the SON, God's son that shines out in the darkness. Wow right?!

Well, I really should begin to write out this assignment, and as I said I think that I could write a book about what I have learned so I have to stop somewhere. :) Ah, Gospel of Luke...I do hear you calling.

     

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