Having said all of that, I will say that it has been a hectic summer, which we are thankful to have survived in one piece and that the fall looks even more hectic and we’re a little scared. Adam started his new job as a youth pastor today and I, as has been mentioned multiple times now, start classes. Unfortunately, Adam’s new job is in Livermore, which is about 30 miles southeast of here so he has the car all day almost every day, which means that in order for me to get to class I have to walk a mile to the subway, take the subway two stops and then walk another mile to class, and then do the whole thing in reverse to get home. AND, while it is downright chilly here in the summer, it is in the 80s now so it is a little toasty for walking long distances with a bag full of books. Not that I’m complaining, I’m just saying …

So, until the next time Adam threatens to delete my blog, I wish you all the best and if you’re bored and like to read some books for me and take notes, let me know, I have a plethora …

Since we got back from San Jose on Saturday, Adam and I have spent the majority of our days job hunting, or looking for jobs for which to hunt. As it is only Tuesday, this isn’t that many days, and yet I am exhausted by it all. I have always been fortunate to have jobs fall into my lap, so having to go out and canvas neighborhoods for good places to work, and then having to ask if their hiring and handout endless resumes, is new for me. In some ways I believe my parents might call it character building. There is certainly humility involved as you continually hear again and again that people are not hiring, no matter how amazing you may or may not be. On the other hand, it is a little bit demoralizing to be willing to work and not be able to find the right place.

In seminary we talked a lot about our sense of call – where it was/is that we feel called to be, where we think our gifts and talents might best serve the world and where we also might find joy and energy. Another way of talking about call would be vocation. As someone anticipating another academic program this fall and looking for part-time work to make ends meet, vocation and call aren’t high on my list of priorities; but, there is a certain sense in which I do want to work someplace where I can contribute, and I definitely would prefer to work somewhere live-giving rather than life-draining. Yet, it is the first of July and places have already hired for the summer, so the options are slimmer than they might be at other times of the year, which leaves me both overwhelmed by the process and trying to remind myself that call involves not only what we desire but also what God desires.

In the Presbyterian Church, in order to be ordained into the pastoral ministry, one must both have an interior sense of call as well as have that call confirmed by their home church and the church to which they have been called to serve. While this dual confirmation results in a lengthy ordination process with multiple parties having to sign off on every step, I do think there is something theologically correct about it. As I search for a part-time job, I wonder if I need to learn to focus less on what I would really like and listen more for where God is calling me to be (part-time) in the months to come.