Sentimental

Today is the last day of classes here at the Seminary.  We've had 6 semesters of "last day of classes" with no big hoopla or celebration.  But this one - the 7th semester - is something special.  It's Matt's last day of class here at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.  In 9 days he'll be graduating from here with a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Leadership.  To say I have been waiting for this day would be a huge understatement.  But here we are, and I'm finding myself very sentimental.

There has been much growth in the Dugan family over these past 3 1/2 years.  And I'm not just talking about sheer number of people, even though that has been true, too.  Even more than that, I'm referring to growth in our maturity - in our thoughts and views on just about everything under the sun.  The way we view life has changed so much.

I can still remember the freezing, cold day in January when we moved up here in 2010.  I had tears in my eyes as we pulled out of Temple, wondering what in the world God had in store for us.  Never could I have imagined all that laid before us.

We moved up here with an 11 month old baby, who couldn't walk or talk or roll his eyes yet.  We had no jobs lined up, and not much in savings.  We moved into a 2 bedroom, 1.5 bath apartment from our 4 bedroom house in Temple.  I remember those first 3 weeks when I would look out the window on the courtyard of our apartment and see people walking around and feel an intense, lonely feeling.  I didn't know anyone, and the job search wasn't as easy as I had hoped.

Before long, I found a job, and then just a couple of months later, I procured a job on campus.  Only 5 months after that, I was promoted to a career position which came with health insurance and unlimited free tuition for Matt.  It was at my on-campus position that I met most of my dearest friends here at Seminary.

The biggest sorrow of our life, losing sweet Graham, happened here.  Matt being fired from his first church job - in a very mean-spirited way - happened here.  Parker turning into a young boy happened here.  Our 9 year marriage being the strongest its ever been happened here.  Wrestling with God's call on our life and what He specifically wants Matt to be doing happened here.

We've also had more than our fair share of friendships come and go during our time here at Seminary.  We've said goodbye to people as they've headed off to college ministry, pastoral ministry, youth ministry, and the mission field.  We now have dear friends serving in Spain, Japan, North Africa, and Chile. 

And now we're about to head off on our own adventure.  The path for us is not clear just yet, but we are ready to see where, when and how God leads us from this place.