A New Post for a New Phase!

It's approaching three months since last I wrote, and, wow, there are some really new things afoot in my life. Part of the reason that I've been 'quiet' for so long (aside from my habit of infrequent blogging) is that I didn't really know how several possibilities were going to play out. It seemed good to me to wait quietly rather than to announce things that were uncertain. But we're breaking new ground now, so here's my latest news:

First, I finished my work for McM U and moved away from Abilene, TX. I left my well-loved, quasi-functioning car in Ft. Worth, rented a more reliable car, and drove to my parents' house in Atlanta. I was east of Birmingham when I allowed myself to think about the wonderful people who were becoming farther away with every passing minute. I saw their faces, heard their voices, felt their embraces. I knew I wouldn't turn around and at the same time wondered that I didn't. I'd managed to stay dry-eyed until then. (My eyes aren't especially dry right now either!) My poor cat made the trip, too. She did all her crying in the first hour or two. :) But she's adjusting.

I'm visiting my family in Atlanta for a couple of weeks. It's nice to be home for a while - connecting with old friends, hanging out with the family, walking in my favorite park, feeling the pulse of the city again (without necessarily being part of the chaos). But this is just the in-between phase...

My next stop is Oxford, England, where I will begin an MPhil in Eastern Christian Studies in October! I'm in Wolfson College, located in North Oxford on the banks of the River Cherwell. (Anyone as nerdy as I am can take a virtual tour!) I hope to complete a DPhil at Oxford as well. If all goes as I'd like, I'll be in the UK for 5-6 years.

So, that's the big, waiting-with-bated-breath news. Last fall, I applied for a number of graduate programs, most of them PhD's in the States, and heard "No" or "Maybe, but probably not" all spring. All that time, the one I really wanted - this program at Oxford - was sort of MIA. That is, until June 1st, when I found out I'd been accepted. (I'd about given up hope! I was trying to psych myself up for another round of applications! Ugh, the idea still makes me shudder.) Then I had to figure out how to pay for my degree - it's not cheap and I'm not independently wealthy! I talked to some of my mentors at ACU. I waited for two and a half months. A little less than a month ago, ACU offered to help me fund my degree(s) if I'd come back to teach there for (at least) an equal amount of time. "Yes, I'm in!!" (A friend of mine called this "indentured servitude." Personally, I think it's a sweet deal!)

And, so, when my sojourn in the UK is over, I plan to return to Abilene to teach undergraduate and graduate theology courses at ACU. I want to focus my studies and research on historical theology (which engages the development of Christian doctrines throughout history). I'm not exactly sure what topics I'll focus on, but I'm very interested in Christology, ecclesiology, gender, and inter-religious dialogue.

Chances are, with all the new things heading my way, the blog is going to get a bit of a makeover in the coming weeks. I'm hoping to step it up on posting, because I imagine this'll be a good way to maintain connections with a lot of people who are special to me. Maybe this cushion time in Atlanta will be a good time to turn over a new leaf...

awkward

Sometimes I wonder if my social skills will ever recover from graduate school.

Once last semester, right after that final grueling summer of my M. Div., I accidentally introduced myself with the wrong name. I was meeting a friend's (now ex-) girlfriend from out of town. My friend Olivia, one of the hosting our gathering, introduced everyone in the room. She started with me, "Kelli, this is Meredith. Meredith, this is..." I broke in and meant to supply my name as I amiably stretched out a hand to shake hers. The hand was extended successfully, but the overly confident words that came out of my mouth were, oddly enough, "Hi, I'm Meredith." At the same time, that I claimed my new acquaintance's name was my own, Olivia finished her part of the introduction, "...Kelli." Kaylynn, after she stopped laughing at me (it took a while), remarked, "If I didn't know who you are, I would have believed that your name is Meredith. You said it with such confidence." It was a bad day for social awkwardness.

Most of the time my social blunders are less conspicuous, like saying obnoxious scholarly words in ordinary conversation. At one point over Christmas break, I found myself explaining what an inclusio is to a 3rd grader. (That was a low point of my social awkwardness. It just came flying out of my mouth before I could stop it! I'm blaming exegesis, David and Jon for this one. ;) ) This week I ran into some friends at a local restaurant and we were chatting casually when I found the word "culpable" on my lips. One friend kindly mocked me. Really - I don't try to do this - these things just come to mind before other, more commonplace words. I end up feeling like I'm being pretentious... even though I'm not trying to impress anyone.

Hypotheticals

This morning I've had a flurry of hypothetical questions on my mind. What if things were different? What if my plans included y instead of x? Would (or will) I regret choosing one set of options over another? What am I willing to relinquish? Other than my faith in Jesus Christ, what will I cling to at all cost? Could the call of God in my life be answered obediently in more than one way? Or maybe it's better asked this way: Is God's calling in my life something that is specific or general? (I think God calls some people to specific tasks and others to more general ones - which kind of calling is mine?) Can I live fully, faithfully, joyfully with a different set of circumstances than those I envision? Can I with the ones I'm choosing now?

Some of these questions we answer for ourselves. We get to learn to live into them, accepting the outcome as the end that we chose over other possible ends with the hope that God is somehow in the midst of that process - guiding us, journeying with us. Some questions are answered for us, for better or for worse, and we learn to live with those too. Other questions we can only answer alongside others. Here's where the questions of what we are willing to leave behind and what we will not release become the most complicated and the most urgent to answer.

Such hypothetical questions and the world of dim, hazy possibilities behind them are like planted seeds. They each seem to hold the potential for life that gives way to more life. Given the conditions of soil, water and temperature, some will germinate while others lie forever dormant. For now, the surface of the soil is still smooth - who can tell which fragile shoots will break through?

New Year's Exclusive

Happy New Year! Well, 2008's certainly holding new things for me. For instance, this will be the first year I've ever lived alone, meaning that I'll spend a lot of my time listening to that phantom ticking noise in the lake cabin (where is it coming from and how do I stop it?!) and plotting the next great way to lure visitors out to my neck-o-the-semi-arid-land ("woods" doesn't quite fit for Abilene terrain).

My now former roommate, Amber Joy, is currently en route to her next great adventure: 13 weeks as a traveling nurse in California. (Sounds like great fun, doesn't it?) Today she's romping around at the Grand Canyon. Here's an exclusive picture of her catching some zzz's on New Year's Eve in preparation for her early morning departure. (The cats felt that they needed to get in on that awesome napping action, too.)


Aww! Isn't that sweet?! I just couldn't resist sharing. Hehehe.

Doesn't Alley look so peaceful in this picture? Well, don't let such appearances fool you! This morning as I sipped my freshly ground, fair-trade Columbian coffee (thanks, Henricksens!) in a lovely 8-cup French Press (gracias, Russ!), I heard her come onto the porch. Desperate for the company of something other than the Phantom (tick... tick... tick), I cracked the door open to greet her. She bolted in with a LIVE BIRD clenched between her teeth, and promptly let it go in my bedroom so she could play with her food inside. I managed to catch it and take it back outside before any serious blood-letting could occur, and returned to my leisured coffee-sipping while the Phantom ticked away. So begin my solo lake cabin adventures...