This is My Prayer of Thanks...

I just submitted my final paper for my Master's Degree in Theology/Spiritual Formation from Northwest Nazarene University.  Commencement will take place on Saturday.

Dear Jesus,

Thank you.

Thank you for giving me the capacity to tackle another degree program when I really didn't know if I could do it or not.  Thank you for helping me to decide on the right program... the one I needed, desperately, for this place and time of my life.  Thank you for helping me to keep it a secret from most of the world for the first year and for helping me to not drive everybody crazy in the second year, when it got exhausting.

Thank you for Phil, the most awesome husband in the world who listened to me say, "I am exhausted" at least a hundred thousand times over the course of the past two school years.  Thank you that he cared enough to wake me up from "naps" at midnight when he knew I had assignments due at 2:00am.  Thank you that he let me borrow his books and he only complained a little bit when I asked him to go dig them out of boxes in the garage, just moments before I needed them.

Thank you for the five most amazing children in the whole world, Seth, Grace, Caleb, Ian, and Miah, who celebrated loudly, just now, when I announced that it is "Mommy's summer vacation".  Thank you for a 13 year old son who isn't too old to hug me tightly and for a 4 year old daughter who wants to know if we can "go on a date now".  I know they want to do really important stuff, at this point, like finding star coins and drawing with sidewalk chalk.  Please give me the energy to jump right back in to that part of my life.

Thank you for an incredible cohort of people with whom to make this journey.  Bless Talitha and Rich and Earle and Henry and Katie, as they graduate this weekend, as well.  Bless LeAnn and Bethanie and Carol as they go on for the M.Div.  And, Lord, I can't even remember if Sherri and Amy and Faith are graduating or going on, but bless them, too!  Help all of these wonderful friends to not be too sad that they will no longer see Facebook updates from me regarding the number of words I have left to finish a paper or the slightly OCD ways in which I report my GPA.  Maybe we can come up with better conversations to have!

Thank you for godly professors who have challenged me at every turn.  Thank you for Dr. Waller, who started us off on a good note and for Dr. Milburn, and Dr. Leclerc and Dr. Carrim and Dr. Thompson.  Thank you for Dr. Oord, whose class I thought I would never survive.  Thank you that my head did not explode, because if it had, I never would have been able to make it through Dr. Bankard's class.  And thank you for Dr. Gorman, who liked my writing style enough that I didn't have to re-invent myself every week.  This was a wonderful reprieve!

Thank you for Nancy, a wonderful spiritual director who really didn't know what she was getting into when she said yes.  Thank you that she said yes, anyway, and that she has helped me through this process and taught me so very much.  It was so important to have someone who was willing to listen to me and willing to listen to God with me.

Thank you for Vicki, who probably keeps more things running smoothly than I can even imagine and for Sally who kept the financial aid straight and sent the checks out.  Thank you, also, that if I don't land a job with a tremendous salary, there are programs that will allow me to pay back these loans over the next 25 years at reasonable rates!

Thank you that I have a couple of moths to figure out whether I want to enroll in another program or write another book or just focus on things like making macaroni and cheese and taking more pictures and blogging more consistently.

Thank you for your faithfulness.  You have never failed me yet.  I don't expect today to be the day you start.

I love you, Jesus.

Amen.