By Grace Through Faith

Well, I've experienced quite a few challenges in the past few weeks, most of which were intellectual and emotional.

As for the emotional bit, I'll just say that I need to work on my self-confidence issues. I need to feel better about being just me, the me that has friends and may not ever make it to a history book, but is loved and appreciated for her uniqueness all the same.

School is rough. Greek-- oh, participles and contract verbs and third declension! Lutheran Confessions. . .I'm gonna have the fourth article of the Augsburg Confession hammered into my brain before long! And SO much reading! I'd forgotten that little detail since last time.

Oh, but I've had a lot of fun, too. Went on a trip to Virginia this past weekend with six seminary friends for our friend the Monsignor's church homecoming (he's nicknamed such because he's VERY high-church, and he lives about 20 minutes from my parents). During that time, we had to excavate my car from a ditch (no matter what anyone says, do NOT go off-roading in a Honda Civic), we broke into two churches, we got fed like royalty, and played much keepaway with stuffed animals and brownies. A good weekend, I'd say. :)

So much to do now. I must apply for a position for CPE (Clinical Pastoral Education, which is pretty much a required hospital chaplaincy for about ten weeks during the summer), must make travel arrangements for December-January, and in the meantime, schoolwork looms alarmingly.

But I feel hopeful. . .for the most part anyway. On Iona, I felt so very CALLED to do God's work, and here. . .well, it's easy to sometimes feel discouraged and lost in the crowd of people called to ministry. It's great to be among these people, but when a call to ministry is a given, the bar is set high. I just hope that through God's help, what I can be will be good enough.