A New World

My favourite one...

So hard to believe only five days have passed since I last posted! And… so hard to believe five whole days have whipped by since I last posted! 

Today has been the first day of orientation, and I began to get a taste of the feast I've been admitted to. They spoke to us of how we are being trained for a trade. Ahhh...  And of how we are going to experience transformation. The language used had layer after layer of rich metaphor, and I felt my inner self sit up in rapt attention. Who can say where this journey will take any of us, but I could feel the Spirit dancing in the room and it was good!

The days leading up to this one were equally intense. They spoke to us today of culture shock, of the trauma of uprooting ourselves from home and friends and coming to this place where we do not yet know each other. Yes. I KNOW this state they speak of. I have been living days of exhausting overwhelm as I tried to sort my way through priorities - which matters more -  a bed to sleep in or internet to be connected with? Buying colourful curtains or throws to alleviate the relentlessly oppressive monochrome of my apartment, with its white walls and grey carpet, or... saving my money to avoid using my federal loan? Trying to find my physical way through a strange city at the same time as trying to navigate my inner priorities reduced me to tears more than once.

The beautiful stairs leading up to my apartment - perfect for a ceramic artist!

And yet… at the same time, there has been the incredible abundant generosity of a dear friend and her son who with his truck and her time and energy furnished my apartment and helped me navigate the maze of this new world. And my apartment which is amazingly spacious, interesting, and full of light. There are the beautiful tiles which decorate the risers on my outside stairs, with each step different. There are the innumerable small kindnesses and friendly actions of fellow students, of staff and faculty of the seminary. There are the many people on the street who return eye contact with a smile or a nod. And then there was the gift of an excellent mattress from a stranger with the same name as my sister…

The Spirit is at work here; clearly my job is to surrender to Her. Not so easy. Totally necessary. One lesson after another if I pay attention.