Seminary Life

As I sit comfortably (and safely) on our couch, watching the blizzard unfold outside, I can't help but reflect on our experiences here at seminary. I wrote a large portion of this post last Summer but it was never finished, so forgive me if the time references are confusing. For the record, we moved to Gordon-Conwell July 1, 2013. Adam is now half way (3 semesters) through a three year Masters of Divinity program.

I've often heard people talk about their time spent at seminary in the same way they talk about their time spent at college. They use phrases like "sweet memories," "lifelong friendships," "I wish I could go back," etc. Now that we've been here a year, I think I can say that Adam and I will likely use similar phrases in the future. In this year, we have made many sweet memories and have developed friendships that I anticipate will last a lifetime.

But like anything in life, seminary has also had its challenges. When we first moved to Gordon-Conwell (although I'm thankful we had a relatively easy transition), I felt distanced from God, alone in my spiritual journey, and spiritually, somewhat depressed. A friend shared with me something that someone shared with her when she first moved here: Sometimes when one experiences change in so many areas of life at once (regional change, relational change, etc), your spiritual growth can be sort of stunted. This was comforting to me and I have finally begun to come out of the fog in the past couple of months. Adam also experienced a difficult transitional phase when his Fall semester classes were... well, the semester as a whole left a lot to be desired. There was a lot of fear and unrest that accompanied those feelings.

Seminary is also a blessing in many ways. I mentioned the friendships we have developed - many of those are from our apartment building and the one next to ours. Living on campus is a huge blessing financially, but also culturally. We live alongside like minded people who understand the lifestyle we've chosen because they've chosen one similar. Another blessing is Adam's growth and learning. During the Spring semester, Adam said he felt more academically challenged than he had ever felt before. It's not secret that my husband LOVES learning and seminary provides him amazing opportunities to do just that.

Blessings and challenges. I suppose the sentiment applies to most areas of life, but this is how we've seen them at seminary. God is continuously faithful and we are thankful for His constant presence as we walk through this journey.