Up Early, Studying for Seminary

I was up early, catching up on seminary classes. I've watched and taken notes on 2 lecture videos about the prophet Amos, a lecture video about Howard Thurman, and a lecture video about Henri Nouwen that included an ending quote from Archbishop Desmond Tutu. I've proofread my short paper on the ideas of grace and sin in some secondary readings.

And yes, I realize the lack of women in this morning's studies, but happily, not every week has this gender imbalance. I do like the presence of theologians of color.

I woke up even earlier than usual, feeling behind, so I decided to just get up, buckle down, and not get distracted by social media. And now, while I'm not ahead of my seminary studies, at least I'm not feeling like I'll never catch up.

When I thought about going to seminary, I imagined stacks of books and lots of reading. I didn't imagine all the lecture videos I would need to find time to watch. I find them as enriching as most class lectures would be, but finding time to watch them can be a challenge.

Let me close with the Desmond Tutu quote. It's one I want to remember:

“Discovering more joy does not, save us from the inevitability of hardship and heartbreak. In fact, we may cry more easily, but we will laugh more easily too. Perhaps we are just more alive. Yet as we discover more joy, we can face suffering in a way that ennobles rather than embitters. We have hardship without becoming hard. We have heartbreaks without being broken.”