Graduated!

G graduated this week (today would be the ceremony on campus) with his M.Div from Southeastern. He put in four and half years into this degree on campus and some of the coursework overseas. He started his degree just two months after returning from two years of service in South America and during his studies, he: worked nearly full-time with a full load of classes, got adjusted to America again, got married mere months later, lost a child, became a sole breadwinner, had a child born, lost his job, remained jobless for 6 months before getting his job back, endured a major upheaval of pulling up roots and moving across the Atlantic to another continent, adjusted to life overseas and learning the language while taking classes all along. What perseverance in face of all the crazy life events.

My husband is pretty amazing.

Another important man in my life is my dad. He's also graduating today! He is getting his Ph.D from Southern. My dad had a pretty radical call about ten or eleven years ago and following the call, he gave up a comfortable life in sunny Florida and moved to Louisville, KY to endure the icy, dreary winters there. He worked hard, excelling in his classes, completing his M.Div, then his Th.M, and now, after four years of Ph.D work, he will walk across the stage to get his hood just a few hours as I write this and will now have "Doctor" in front of his name. Did I mention that my dad aced in every category in his oral defense of his dissertation, which is rare?

When I say my dad is brilliant, he. is. brilliant.

Congratulations, G and Daddy!