For those of you who don't know, last thursday I graduated from Cal State Long Beach with a B.A. in English (or, as it's more commonly referred to, a B.A. in BS =P).
I view last thursday as a dividing line or marker that separates some very distinct phases in my life. Not every transition is as clear-cut or easy to identify, but this is definitely one of them. Before, I was a full-time student. For (at least) the next year or two after, I'll be in full-time ministry.
Next Fall will be the first time in EIGHTEEN YEARS that I'm not going to be in classes! And no, I didn't repeat any grades-that's counting Pre-School and Kindergarden ;). Needless to say, that's quite a long period of time to be defined by one job or set of circumstances.
In this last season of my life, the life and story of Paul the apostle spoke deeply into my circumstances. From studying Philippians twice last summer (at STP and then SOMA), going through 1 Thessalonians with Navs, doing Romans with my Bible Study and going through Paul's letters to the churches in Philippi, Colossae, Galatia, and Ephesus with Sons of Thunder, Paul's story was the one I found myself focusing on. I learned SO much and really grew as a result of this time with Paul's writings front and center and haven't even really scratched the surface of the understanding and insight that can be gained from studying his life, but with a change in season comes a change in focus.
As I move into the summer, it's been the story of David that's become more and more prominent as I spend time in the Word. To narrow it down but not give TOO much away yet, David's life is where my theme for this year has come. In the events transpiring in my life I see a mirroring of a very specific season in David's life and feel that God has been speaking into my life via David's experiences.
I want to be a man after God's heart and definitely feel that God's got some huge lessons for me to learn in that regard. My prayer is that He keeps teaching me and that even though I'm no longer a full-time student I never use that as an excuse to stop learning.
