the glory of convocation.

I’ve been in the Cities for just over 24 hours and I’m so glad to be here.  I feel refreshed and renewed after just getting away for this little bit of time.  *huge sigh of gloriousness*  [See this blog post for further insight.  Further fuzzy insight – I did write it at midnight last night.]

Convocation is an annual conference held at Luther Seminary.  As a 2011 graduate, I got to attend for free!  It was so incredibly wonderful to be back on campus; I do love Luther Sem.  It was great to be in the same place as so many pastors who understand the challenges and joys of daily life in ministry.  

The biggest highlight and comfort?  Seeing friends.  Paige and jD were there but you know – I see them all the time. It was fun to connect again with so many more people, including many of my favorite seminary guys.  [Say what?!]  Conversations with [not-Dawson-but-another] Kendall, Cole and Matt; lunch out with James; the following text conversation with dear friend Justin was lives in PA and was not in attendance.  It was super fun just to be in the Cities and go out again like we did every Thursday night of spring semester [even if this time it was super tame and led only to the mischief of the text conversation seen below].  

Coming to stay for convo allowed me to catch up and crash with my Stillwater family [as I call them].  I was even given keys for my weekend use and was scolded whenever I knocked or asked before I got a glass of water [because I was just supposed to walk in and help myself to whatever].    Tonight I was very excited to participate in Friday night festivities with Mark, Karen, and Jenna.  We went out for Asian cuisine [mmm pad thai] and then to the movies.  [A post about how I always cry at animal movies is forthcoming.]  A perfect Friday night in the Cities.

I would completely be lying if I said I was ready to return to my south-eastern MN home tomorrow.  I’m not.  I could go for at least another couple days of colleague time and Cities fun.  The fact that I kinda sorta broke down at my Stillwater b&b tonight is proof.  Church is hard.  Living alone is hard.  A break from it was wonderful but that sermon from Sunday still needs to be written and Mabel needs to be picked up from the kennel.  [The fact that they are grooming her before I pick her up in the morning brings me insurmountable joy.]  Here we go.  Back to it.  Lord, have mercy.

[Knowing that I return to the Luther Sem and the Cities in a few short weeks for another conference – this one on confirmation – makes leaving the tiniest bit more doable.  St.Paul – I’ll be back.]