It is hard to believe that I only have one week of class left in my first semester at Vanderbilt Divinity School. We are off for Thanksgiving this week, next we have one week of class and then finals! This all means that I fly back to the UK & Ireland for Christmas in 18 days. Crazy.
(In my three week trip I will visit London, Glasgow, Iona, Larne, Dublin and a few wee trips to Belfast. Bring it on.)
I have not been very good at updating this since my arrival in the US. Partly due to the fact that spare time for blogging has been lacking but also because I did not want to write a depressing homesickness post. Yes, I spent much of last year counting down the months to my return to Nashville so I did not expect that gut-wrenching feeling of wanting to return home when I landed in the US.
But, it happened.
When I lived in Nashville previously I did not have such acute homesickness this early on. There are various reasons for this but ultimately I have come to treasure my homesickness. The longing for home is because I have a connection to people and places there that will never disappear. My homesickness has also been tenderly cared for by my nearest and dearest here in Nashville. They have made me cups of Irish tea, sang my favourite hymns with me, fed me sweet tea, indulged my rugby drama, made me laugh, drank beer with me, prayed with me, and given me the space and freedom to adjust to life back on this side of the pond. I am blessed to have people on both sides of the Atlantic who will welcome me with hugs, beer, smiles and banter.
Coming to the end of the semester I have more questions about my faith, vocation and our world than I did at the beginning. I think this means Vanderbilt Div School is the place for me. Thanks be to God for a tear-filled, joy-filled, doubt-filled, and hope-filled semester!
Happy Thanksgiving!
(Now, back to those Greek translations...)
No comments:
Post a Comment