Meditation on Vocation

It was very quiet in my apartment over the last week and a half. Consider the quaint adage—“You don’t know how much you miss something until it’s really gone.” In this circumstance, however, the it happened to be a someone. Sonia was visiting her cousins to the north last week. She also participated in the three-day “Walk for a Cure” event. Again, speaking of adages—my mother is fond of one herself: bachin’ it. Being a bachelor by default—I bached’ it for over a week. It was as if the cosmic order was “out of balance,” but things are again working as according to plan.

Earlier this week I had what I would call a “crisis of vocation.” Why? I had considerable time to myself over the last week and a half – which allowed me to take a step back, meditate, and consider the authenticity and likelihood of my vocational plans. My KAPLAN GRE preparation classes exercise a pseudo-Socratic teaching method. The accredited instructor asks you a question and rephrases the question again and again until you are capable of completing it. I have made known my mathematical ineptitude—but was again “brought low” by algebra and geometry. To my chagrin I was almost incapable of completing the simplest of equations. Because of this – I critically reflected upon whether or not I was “cut out” for graduate school. I believe that I am bigger than what a standardized test says!

The GRE important thing to remember is that for doctoral programs in theology – the GRE isn’t the only thing that makes you a strong candidate. It is simply a non-objective, standardized measurement of one’s potential academic abilities weighed against other graduate level students. There are certainly many factors that determine whether or not one is an acceptable candidate for such-and-such programs.

I hope you are having a wonderful start to your week. It is beautiful outside. Enjoy it before it starts getting cold again. Take care.

-Dan