Currently, I am sitting on a couch at my sister-in-law’s house in Wilmore, Kentucky. Jessica and I are up here visiting her sister Sarah and Sarah’s husband Brandon as we make preparations to move to this area in the near future. Sarah and Brandon are currently enrolled at Asbury Theological Seminary, which is the seminary where I plan to attend beginning this Fall. If you want to imagine what Wilmore may be like, the closest thing I can compare it to is Mayberry. Seriously, it’s the perfect vision of a small town. The school is great and I’m very much looking forward to being a student here.
It wasn’t that long ago, relatively speaking, that I would have told myself I was crazy for even thinking about seminary.
Answering a call to ministry was the furthest thing from my mind. I knew I was called but I had no interest in answering. And now, here I am a licensed pastor, who is about to finish an undergraduate degree and about to pursue a master’s degree. I wasn’t some specially trained guy or even the most intelligent person I know (my grades certainly reflect that). The biggest thing has been that I finally was willing to say “yes” to what God was asking me to do. I was not equipped when I was called but He has equipped me as I have answered the call. That’s really the biggest thing about any type of situation with God. He simply wants us to be willing to serve Him. I’m thankful that I finally said “yes.” The journey that this has taken me on has been amazing and I’m eager to see what else happens in the future.
In spite of the fact that Jessica and I are on a vacation – which is partly a working vacation – we can’t escape certain things. Yesterday was three months since Hannah’s birth and early departure from this world. We can’t go a day without thinking about her and missing her but it especially seems to be strong on the “anniversary” days. Every 8th day of the month will be such a day. As much as these days will remind us all the more of Hannah, it will also be a reminder of how blessed we have been by people who have loved us through this experience.
As I mentioned, we are on vacation. We will be in Kentucky until Wednesday and then headed to spend a few days in North Carolina with my sisters, aunt and uncle. After that we will be spending a couple of nights at Lake Junaluska and even touring the Biltmore Estate before returning home. Being away and not working on the ambulance has helped me to relax in ways that I had forgotten I was able to experience. I truly have been burned out on EMS and I desperately needed some time away. I had no idea to the degree which I needed that time away. Regardless of what field you might find yourself in, take your vacation time. You will return a much more relaxed and productive employee.
But I also have to admit that being away has made me look forward to hanging up my scope for good.
So those are the random thoughts going through my head right now. Hey, at least the title of the blog is true.
Jonathan