What's Shakin'?

 "And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns."

Philippians 1:6 NLT

 As I look back today, this week has been incredible--not easy--but an amazing week full of reminders of God's faithfulness and guidance!! For that, I am so thankful. 

The lectures this week have been great! On Tuesday,  Dr. Paccini gave a beautiful lecture on Calvin and the Pieta. On Wednesday, my Planning Christian Worship professor spoke to me after class with a very heartfelt message of affirmation of my calling, something that I really needed to hear. 

With my religious background, education, and love of creative writing, sometimes I feel like a fish out of water in this great place of academia called Emory. My brain hasn't made that switch over to critical and argumentative writing--I hate reading boring papers, therefore I really don't like to write boring papers which is apparently what some want :). Not an easy transition for a naturally creative mind, but I'm working on it.  But sometimes, you simply feel inadequate. I am going to be honest, there have been many moments of doubt these last few weeks, but God has been abundant! God has been faithful! And the ground is shaking….

This past week was Black Student Caucus in Chapel. Thursday we had CHURCH! And it was absolutely wonderful! The message was incredible and unusual. I cannot easily remember ever hearing a sermon preached on Leah - not Jacob and Rachel and Leah - but Leah. The sermon was titled "Leah's Legacy." Dr. Parker walked us through Leah's story in Genesis and took that little bit of information that we have on her, the history and society of the time and gave us new eyes to look at Leah. Leah's legacy was giving birth in hard times--not only to children, but to her joy, to her redemption as the one who was unloved, to her independence. God looked down on Leah in her time of need and opened her womb and she gave birth. Dr. Parker of course, tied in the fact that Leah's fourth son was Judah, the ancestor of David, who was the ancestor of our Lord Jesus Christ. If we have put our faith in Christ, then Leah's Legacy is our legacy--knowing that God is ever present with us, will hear us and open our hearts to give birth to God's plan in hard times.

I had dinner with a wonderful friend Friday night. It was the first time that we had been able to go out to dinner together and really sit and share. As we shared, it became evident that our lives have been very similar and we have gone through many of the same valleys and also the same struggles at Candler. She shared with me something that had really spoke to her heart. She had attended a Bible study a few weeks back and the topic had been on Shaking your foundation. Sometimes the ground is shaking and we ask God why, only to discover that it is God who's doing the shaking. The question was posed--what is God shaking about your foundation? What has someone told you about yourself, that you believed and made part of your foundation that isn't of God? Sometimes, God wants to get us out of our comfort zone and away from those influences and shake us to realize the truth of who God is so that we can be who God has called us to be. When I got home from dinner, I had received a wonderful gift from a friend back in Wilmington, who had me on her heart and mailed a book to me. The book is  "A Confident Heart", which I look forward to reading after midterms.

So...giving birth in hard times, shaking ground and a confident heart. A perfect way to summarize the week and exactly the messages needed during these times here at seminary. Upperclassmen at Candler have described their seminary experience as death, burial and resurrection -- I'm a first year, halfway through and definitely understanding their meaning of the death phase. The work is mountainous, and hard, and different than anything I have ever done in my life. Separating the academia from the spiritual is kind of hard (especially since you would think they should go hand in hand). So with the threat of seminary death looming overhead, my foundations have begun to shake. I have been reviewing things that I have accepted as truth about me but have no part of who God is and can see the areas that God is molding (and of course, I'm sure there are those that I cannot see). And all the while, I'm praying to live into Leah's legacy of giving birth in hard times--knowing that God's plan is being birthed in me and I'm being shaped into the woman God created me to be. 

As I head into midterm season, I have a renewed excitement and am looking at this journey with new vision. And as my friend asked me, I now ask you -- Is your foundation shaking?The God who heard Leah and redeemed her from her situation is the same God we call on today! We have the same hope and the same hand to hold when our foundations are shaking.

Song of the week: Hillsong United's "Desert Song"