Friday, November 16, 2007

Life

Life is such an interesting journey. I am in the most wonderful classes this semester. It's my first semester in the doctoral program, and I really had no idea what to expect. My first class is "Race, Ethnicity and Inequality." I was excited about this class from the moment I read the title, and it has not disappointed. It allows me to dialogue publicly about issues that have plagued me throughout my life; about things that I have experienced namelessly; about tension that I have felt, seen, and even touched. It has been a somewhat emotional journey, which has peaked my awareness of so many of my own tendencies and pathologies, as well as, those of others. A professor of mine once told me that I needed to understand my own pathologies in order to avoid harming others with them... So often we fail to treat people in a way that indicates that we truly have respect for the dignity and worth of the humanity that we all possess as God's own creations.





My other class is sociological foundations. I knew that this class would have serious implications for my understanding of the world and the communities that I will serve in the course of my life, but I didn't anticipate that the learning would come from a marvelously gifted, multicultural, intensely intelligent, highly stimulating mix of individuals....


...It was a true KOINONIA
It is difficult to say that there are few gifted and passionate educators left after you have experienced this group of individuals. While I fear that this was just a set up... something that God did to teach us all that His plan still supersedes ours... I know that there is purpose in it.




A mentor of mine once said,

"God has placed something inside of each and every individual we meet, something that was intended to bless our lives."

His goal, he says,
"Is to get that -something- from every encounter."


What a great expectation to have for humanity.
PEACE!

1 comment:

child_of_africa said...

This post has put a big SMILE on my face :-) and I learned ANOTHER new and important word from you-- KOINONIA.

What quality would you most like people to notice when they meet you?