I'm exhausted. My introvert is ready to shut down.
But I'm still awake.
Because today, April 26, 2015, I'm going to do craziest thing I've ever done.
I'm getting ordained.
I'm going to be a reverend.
We've been planning it for months and extensively planning for weeks.
It's here.
And it still doesn't feel real.
I don't think I met a female ordained minister until I was in college. That was always something men did, a reverend is what my dad was (and still is obviously).
That was never in the cards for me.
But I guess it was.
Looking back, God's been working this out all along. I can't help but be a minister. I can't stop myself from proclaiming the Gospel. I can't imagine doing life without a church family, without people to walk the journey beside. I can't imagine not being a minister, so here I am.
I'm not trying to blaze a trail or be a rebel. I am simply following where the Spirit leads.
Yes, it's a path that's different. It's a path that I never knew was possible until a little over a year ago. It's unfamiliar and new and I am absolutely not following the example of other Christian women in my life...
Except that's exactly what I'm doing. So many great women have helped guide me to this place. No, most of them were not reverends or pastors or even would give themselves the official title of "church minister." But that's what they all were and are to me. Inside and out of the church building, they were the church. They followed God's call even when it was difficult and different. Even when it lead outside of their comfort zone,and away from the paths of their family and friends. Thinking about those women and their husbands and families and friends who served and followed God with them, I am overwhelmed with gratefulness.
And I hope that they know how much their faith and kindness and strength has influenced me, helping guide me to this day.
My ordination day.
Today I will become a reverend.
In December I will no longer be a student.
These two events that happen on two ordinary days of the year will take me on a path that is unfamiliar.
But that's where Spirit is leading me. That's where the Gospel of Christ is going to be proclaimed in my life. That's where I am going to find a faithful God that will not let my feet fail.
And I am thankful.
