Thundery Thursday

1. Laughing out loud in Gospels when Drew offered to cut out Acts from his Bible so he could paste it in next to the Gospel of Luke during our discussion of Luke-Acts.
2. Ben offered me a graham cracker in class. He said it was stale, but I thought it was good.
3. Getting to attend church Bible study after a long absence. Many of the people are like parents/ grandparents to me, and I've missed studying with them. And Barbara made oatmeal cookies for class!
4. The smell rain and wet concrete. Heavenly.

5. This one is set apart from the rest. I sent my application to PLTS earlier this week. I've been nervous but extremely excited about this entire process. After getting out of Gospels, I noticed I had a voicemail on my phone from the director of admissions from PLTS. He and some of his administrators are going to be in southern California at the beginning of March, and they wanted to meet with the ELCA Fuller students. This is super exciting for me, because I thought I was one of just a handful of Lutherans wandering Fuller's campus. He also wanted to let me know that most of my application forms have been submitted, which is a relief.

After that phone call, I went to Bible study at Salem, then went home. I checked my email, and was moved by the message I received.

"Hello again, Tuhina. It was a pleasure to speak with you earlier this morning.

Well, what a deep and moving "Brief Autobiography" you sent in. Thanks so much for sharing.

I personally resonate, though in different ways, with much of what you say. I also was not raised as a Christian; in fact, I was raised without religion at all. I ended up in academic philosophy, going all the way to a PhD in that discipline. I specialized in ethics--which was sort of my own religion, my own spirituality--and took that very seriously. Around the time your Lutheran journey started, 1979, mine started too--though I was in my mid-twenties by then. And my journey toward Lutheran Christian faith involved my spouse in key ways as well, my wife having been raised in the Catholic church in Cuba but wanting at the time to both return to the church and seek another denomination. I also was baptized as an adult, in 1982, at age 25. And as is the case for you, my incredible journey continues . . .

So, from your deep questionings, continuing vocational journey, serious theological engagement with the Lutheran Church and Christian faith, personal background and interfaith experiences, and so much more that shows through in your writing, it's utterly clear that you will make a splendid addition to PLTS and the Graduate Theological Union academic and faith community. I'm delighted at your application."

Wow. Just... wow. I'm still floored.