Mastered the Divine

Well, it seems the name of my blog is finally (blessedly) obsolete: as of Sunday, May 24th, 2009, I became LReed, MDiv/MA :) I have, if you will, mastered the divine.

Sunday was one of the most joyful days I have experienced in a long time. I could barely sit still in the pew during graduation; my cheeks hurt from smiling so much during the ceremony, and my throat was raw from singing and cheering for my peers by the end. My heart was just overflowing with gratitude. Overflowing with gratitude for my friends, my classmates, my professors, my colleagues, and my family who got me through. I felt the cloud of witnesses so profoundly on Sunday; I have been carried by my community to this achievement, and as I walked across the stage staring out into the congregation, all I wanted to do was fall onto my knees in thanks and joy.

And yet, this was also a roller-coaster of a week. A family member died unexpectedly 6 days before the ceremony. Loss was on my consciousness in a palpable way. And I am continually reminded that grief and gratitude tend to go hand in hand. So on Sunday, I was also overwhelmed by the ones who were not sitting in the congregation that day. Overwhelmed by the people who had always been part of the landscape of my life, people who were integral to getting me to where am now...people who have now disappeared from the canvas.

It has been quite a year. I view 2008-2009 through the lens of the passion narrative. There were experiences of loss and grief from this year that often made me feel like I was stuck somewhere between Good Friday and Easter. And yet, as I walked across the stage on Sunday, I remembered the women who visited the tomb daily, who grieved and wept and prayed without ceasing; and I realized that my community, the people who visited, grieved, and prayed with me through all of this year, they had loved me into resurrection.

I know the divine because I have been taught love by my community. Thus, my Master of Divinity will always reflect for me how truly, how unselfishly, and how sincerely I have been loved. I can only pray I can live into that legacy of love that has been shown to me.