It's official!

I now have my letter from the college board to say I have been officially approved for graduation!!!!!!!!!!

Yes, I know I had already fulfilled all requirements, but there's still this little corner of my mind that didn't believe it could actually happen. In 1975, for personal reasons which involve other people to some extent, but also my own mental and emotional state at the time which left me unable to complete the basic workload, I left uni without a degree, and a firm belief that I had failed and was incapable of ever getting a degree. Years passed. I got married, had kids, brought them up, dealt with some heavy issues in my life, mainly to do with abuse, and felt like a failure. I didn't know who I was meant to be, or what God had created me to do. So long as my kids needed a mum that gave me a sense of purpose, but my kids were growing up and I wasn't sure what came next. Crafts and sports, the typical time-fillers for womenwith time on their hands, are two of the things I have the least interest in (probably only equalled by my total disinterest in the business world.)

Then, in 2000 I went to a conference, in Brisbane, that changed my life. There was a session where a man, on his knees in front of 3,000 people, apologised to women for the way the church has treated them. All I could do was cry and cry, it touched so many places where I had been deeply hurt. And it was as I dealt with the aftermath of this that God spoke to me, plainly and clearly, and told me to get a degree in theology!

Well, it took a while to get things sorted out, but here I am with my BTh completed. It hasn't been easy, I have had to face a lot of my personal 'monsters' along the way, and there were moments where God got me through in such a way as to confirm that this was His calling (One outstanding example was the semester I really struggled with a pinched nerve in my back (so bad that I had my exams postponed for medical reasons) and came out with 2 HDs (high distinctions) -- I had been within a hairsbreadth of tossing in the whole thing as impossible!

So, here I am, 53 years old, and waiting to see what God is calling me to. I have no idea what happens next, and I still have no clear idea whether I should do my Masters, but it's an exciting journey. When I was 16 and a new christian, I looked around the church I was in and saw the attitudes of the older people. I prayed that I wouldn't become like that, but that middle age would find me doing new things for God and not becoming too "comfortable" in my faith. I guess I can say God has answered that prayer!