The Journey Begins

I’m been at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary for 3 days now and it’s beginning to feel a little like home.  My things are all in place and I’ve purchased enough food to make it look like I’ll be here a while.  Pictures of my family are now hanging on the walls and I was finally able to coerce that pesky old window open.  I guess I’ve settled in. 

I arrived on Friday, a ball of stress and annoyed at the traffic on the interstate.  I arrived later than I wanted and it was making me nervous.  Yet all too soon I was standing on the steps leading up to the housing office and my new home.  While walking up those steps I realized just how drastically my life was about to change.  I’m not here for a visit, I’m staying.  The journey I am beginning isn’t going to be easy but I feel that it is very important.  Robert Frost wrote in his famous poem, “I took the one (road) less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.”  Someday, I want to be able to look back and say the same. 

It’s amazing to be in a place where everyone is so in love with God.  There are few places like this I’m sure.  And the history!  You can smell it at least 3 blocks before you can see the old brick buildings firmly rooted in place.

When I finally entered my faded old brick building I was given a key, a room number, a mail box number and nothing more.  Now, I’m the kind of person who likes step by step directions, so the complete lack of direction put me in a slight panic.  But what else could I do but keep going?  So I went trekking across the campus green to get an id made.  And thus began my ping pong like afternoon of trying to gain entry into my new home.  (Apparently, dormitory living is high profile, I have to swipe my id card, then scan in with my hand print to get in the front door, then swipe and scan again to get into my hallway, finally, I use my key to unlock my door. Whew! That’s a lot of work!)  I trekked back to my dorm and couldn’t get in because my fingerprint weren’t taken properly, the next time I had to go back because my card just wouldn’t work.  An hour later, I was finally able to get into the building. Halleluiah!  I wandered the halls for a while and finally stopped in front of room 3235, which matched the number on my key.  To my great joy and relief, I found my key worked in that lock.  When I opened the door, to my even greater joy, I found that my room was nice.  It’s nothing special, tile floors, wooden dresser, desk and bed, white walls, but it’s mine.  The best part of all is the view from my window.  I overlook the campus green and can see the library, Norton Hall, the Honeycutt Center and more.  This is a beautiful place and I’m blessed to be here.  Three days later, I’m still here.  I guess I’m home.