Now, on the third day of orientation at St. Tikhon's seminary, I am beginning to understand the enormity of the process that I have undertaken. I have gone from being a full-time husband and father, to seeing my family for two and a half hours each day. I will see them slightly more often when the actual classes start, but not much more. I have started to miss them already.
My first semester will be made up of liturgics, scripture, church history, and music. Twenty-one credits plus remedial Greek, choir, and a special ROCOR class in liturgics which will useful from me coming out of the Ukrainian tradition. Although the class load is heavy, the most consuming part of the seminary will be the daily service requirements. Morning worship starts at 6:30am and normally lasts until 8:00 or 8:15. Daily Vespers starts at 4:00pm and lasts for 45 minutes.
There seems to be little time for anything else, and even less energy. After the sessions with Father Chrysostomos and Father Jason I feel an even greater need for more personal prayer. When will I do my required reading and papers? God will provide... right?
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Saturday, August 13, 2011
Just in time, not a moment sooner
It has been a couple of months since my family and I made the move to NEPA (Northeastern Pennsylvania) from the sunny mesas of southern New Mexico. The cool, moist weather and temperate climate has been a welcome change. The people here have been friendly and welcoming and all of the pieces of the puzzle seem to be falling into place well, if not as quickly as we would like. As a wise friend once said,"God provides exactly what you need, but not a second earlier".
My wife and I both quit our stable jobs praying that she would be able to find a job that would support both of us and our daughter through our seminary days. After two months of searching and applying and with only four weeks until the school year started, she was interviewed and was hired by the Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children as a language arts teacher; exactly what she has been trained to do.
We left Las Cruces, New Mexico without official acceptance to St. Tikhon's Orthodox Seminary, but with blessings of both Father Gabriel, our priest, and Bishop Daniel. Official acceptance came only three weeks ago on the same day that Kristi was asked in for her first job interview. The day before seemed to be the end of a rope, so to speak. We were both feeling disconnected and unsure about the grand decisions we had made to bring us this far. I believe God knew this and gave us these bits of relief at the exact moment that we needed them.
One piece of the puzzle remained missing. Child care for my daughter was necessary for my wife to work and me to attend school full time. We had been asking around the seminary about people willing to look after her, but to no avail. Last week we sent out a blanket email to all of the seminarians and their wives to request help. There were no responses. My wife and I discussed the possiblility of my postponing my first year to take care of our daughter as a last resort. The prospect was difficult for me to accept, but I did.
This morning my wife asked me what I would like to do today. I responded, "Find child-care for Maya." She laughed and nodded, but was as concerned as I was. But, by 9AM I was taking a phone call from a seminarian's wife who is willing and able. There are still details to be worked out, but it seems to be "full-steam ahead" for our lives here in NEPA.
"...my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus"
-Phillipians 4:19
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28
It seems as though we are being called according to His purpose.
-Theophan
My wife and I both quit our stable jobs praying that she would be able to find a job that would support both of us and our daughter through our seminary days. After two months of searching and applying and with only four weeks until the school year started, she was interviewed and was hired by the Scranton School for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children as a language arts teacher; exactly what she has been trained to do.
We left Las Cruces, New Mexico without official acceptance to St. Tikhon's Orthodox Seminary, but with blessings of both Father Gabriel, our priest, and Bishop Daniel. Official acceptance came only three weeks ago on the same day that Kristi was asked in for her first job interview. The day before seemed to be the end of a rope, so to speak. We were both feeling disconnected and unsure about the grand decisions we had made to bring us this far. I believe God knew this and gave us these bits of relief at the exact moment that we needed them.
One piece of the puzzle remained missing. Child care for my daughter was necessary for my wife to work and me to attend school full time. We had been asking around the seminary about people willing to look after her, but to no avail. Last week we sent out a blanket email to all of the seminarians and their wives to request help. There were no responses. My wife and I discussed the possiblility of my postponing my first year to take care of our daughter as a last resort. The prospect was difficult for me to accept, but I did.
This morning my wife asked me what I would like to do today. I responded, "Find child-care for Maya." She laughed and nodded, but was as concerned as I was. But, by 9AM I was taking a phone call from a seminarian's wife who is willing and able. There are still details to be worked out, but it seems to be "full-steam ahead" for our lives here in NEPA.
"...my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus"
-Phillipians 4:19
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose."
-Romans 8:28
It seems as though we are being called according to His purpose.
-Theophan
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