Vocation

I had the opportunity to attend a Wednesday afternoon service at Marsh this week and hear Dean Elmore preach about tribes and the idea that we were placed in these tribes “so that we may get to know each other.” My initial reaction to the service in total was it gave me a sentiment that I didn’t realize I needed it. Church, especially for me, has an ability to become mundane and regular. It’s easy to bring in and leave with the same energy. This service energized me, I was close to tears while singing familiar songs and realizing Thurman’s vision of a religious community at work. I was mostly impacted by the idea of tribes and how as I get older the definition of what a tribe is has become so fluid. I thought about race as a tribe, but simultaneously I saw my friend Nick read the prayers of people and couldn’t imagine the idea that he wasn’t apart of my tribe. Or that any of the marsh interns aren’t apart of my tribe. However, I revert back to the basic idea of tribe when things seem difficult, I don’t question if we were meant to get to know each other, but maybe living together is too much to ask.

Finishing my Thurman class last semester, I now see the impact that his writing has had in my thought process. I feel more aware, a willingness to think a little harder about everything. I recently lost a member of my church, “a great oak in the woods has fallen” as they call it and Thurman’s meditations got me through periods of pain. I think we have an obligation to speak amongst our tribes. Thurman makes me believes that speaking is just the beginning of our work. I thank God for Thurman, for my friend Nick, and for young theology students who just can’t seem to shake a connection to theology.

This marking two full years at Marsh, it seems surreal to be writing about growth for my devotional and seeing my own growth. I’ve always been obsessed with trying to be someone else, but I can see I’m growing into someone that I have aspired to be. God’s Plan.