The homestretch

I will arrive back in Georgia a week from Thursday. Somehow a whole year has managed to go by, and I don't quite know where the time went. Logistics for the impending move have been dominating my conscious and subconscious mind, squeezing in questions about how much packing capacity I have between each remaining spreadsheet and Sustainer update at the office. As I've been getting things in order for this latest transition, it struck me that it's been several months since I last posted. Unfortunately, I don't have enough time or mental energy to devote to writing a really good update for you all -- I'll save that for the eerily quiet space between the move and the start of classes. So I'll cheat instead.

Below is a little something I wrote for a development newsletter that will be sent out soon. It's kind of vague and promotional, but it's still true. Hopefully this will count for something as I concoct a more exciting blog post that will make its debut in the coming weeks. Enjoy!

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Expect the unexpected.

I suppose that should be par for the course when it comes to a faith journey, but it is a lesson I am constantly learning and relearning. I applied for the Sojourners Internship Program midway through my first year of seminary, when I discovered a deep need for more time and experience to discern my sense of call. In an impressive spurt of optimism, I expected to end this year with perfect clarity – I'm sure those of you who have more years under your belt are laughing, and you should be! Now that I am just a few days from the close of the program, one thing I can say with perfect clarity is that perfect vocational clarity was not achieved. But something else is perfectly clear as well: this is exactly where I was supposed to be.

Simply listing my daily tasks wouldn’t be enough to explain it to you. Yes, I have gained a slew of practical skills that equipped me to serve Sojourners’ mission to articulate the biblical call to social justice in ways I had never envisioned for myself before. But it goes deeper than that. This year has taught me humility. It has taught me vulnerability. It has taught me creativity and sacrifice and hope and patience and how to talk to strangers on the telephone without fear. It has taught me about faithful witness and social sin and the healing power of partnership and reconciliation. Surrounded by a community of passionate colleagues and friends in the office, surprised and delighted by our committed supporters and friends, and enveloped by the warmth and challenge of a house full of fellow interns, I found myself both grounded and uplifted. Never before have I felt this small. Never before have I felt this empowered.

The year has been so full that inundating you with the nitty gritty would be overwhelming, so all I will say is this: I am grateful that I had the chance to be part of Sojourners' mission and work for a year alongside such faithful disciples, both within and beyond the office. No, I didn’t end the year with clear-cut answers. I am, however, ending it with so much more.