I originally began this blog last summer as a way for me to express myself in writing. I was processing a lot as I finished a tough first year of seminary. I wasn't sure I understood why I had felt called to ministry in the first place. I certainly wasn't good at "pastoral reflection" in my classes and it seemed like I was more cut out for a career outside of relationships. Then I read 1 Corinthians 13.12 --
"For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face."
I definitely felt like I was only seeing a dim picture of what God was wanting for me, but in this chapter, the chapter of love, I came to the realization that it is only in relationships we find the true meaning in our lives. Paul writes earlier in the chapter that prophecies, tongues, and knowledge all end, yet love remains. It is through love, through relationship, that we come to see God face to face. In the same way, I believe our relationships are what allow us to see one another face to face.
Now, as I am less than a month away from the next step, a two-year teaching and ministry assignment in Kobe, Japan, I come back to this same verse. I know so little about what I am doing, though I have read and studied a lot. It seems apropos to consider that it is love, not knowledge, that endures when considering our relationship with God and others. So it is through this blog that I convey what I can of my relationships, experiences, and hopefully not too overbearingly, my theological ponderings.
With that, I am really looking forward to what can happen over the next two years. I will enjoy keeping in touch with people back here in the States through my stories, and I hope you aren't too bored by me and my writing. I also look forward to hearing all of your stories! This is a good start, I suppose. Let's see where things go.
Peace.
