Graduation was a very special day.
It was a great opportunity to reflect on all that God has done, the amazing things that I've learned, and the challenges that I've been through. At the same time, it reminds me that this is a continuing journey and that there's always going to be another step to take after this.
The past year at Bishopdale College was a real journey. The biggest part for me was the community. It was a community where I could belong and where a lot of my walls could come down. Bishopdale has been more than a college. It's been more than classes, more than assignments. It has been a place of formation.
Coming in as a level 5 student, I was very much ready to just learn some fancy words to have under my belt if I needed one day. I wasn't so ready to let God touch my heart with all of those things.
He showed me that it's not so much my work as much as it is his work in my heart that has happened. And that's happened through the invitation for me to encounter God through his word and through study as much as through community.
I struggled with that more than the assignments! I’m a bit of an achiever, so I like to just get the work done – but entering community was a challenge because it meant that I needed to let my guard down and be ready to fail.
Bishopdale has been a community where I felt safe to be myself and to be present. It's been a place where I've been loved. It's been a place where I've been healed, and it's been a place where I've been challenged.
But I wouldn't have been able to take up that challenge to change unless I knew that I was being held, and that there were people journeying with me.
At the end of the day, we're not just students and we're not just lecturers.
And it's been such a privilege to be able to come together with so many incredible people and learn from one another and grow in faith together.
We couldn't have done that if it wasn't for the community that Bishopdale provides, and I’m really grateful for everyone who was involved in that journey. It’s made all the difference for me.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
We have invited these writers to share their experiences, ideas and opinions in the hope that these will provoke thought, challenge you to go deeper and inspire you to put your faith into action. These articles should not be taken as the official view of the Nelson Diocese on any particular matter.
Graduation was a very special day.
It was a great opportunity to reflect on all that God has done, the amazing things that I've learned, and the challenges that I've been through. At the same time, it reminds me that this is a continuing journey and that there's always going to be another step to take after this.
The past year at Bishopdale College was a real journey. The biggest part for me was the community. It was a community where I could belong and where a lot of my walls could come down. Bishopdale has been more than a college. It's been more than classes, more than assignments. It has been a place of formation.
Coming in as a level 5 student, I was very much ready to just learn some fancy words to have under my belt if I needed one day. I wasn't so ready to let God touch my heart with all of those things.
He showed me that it's not so much my work as much as it is his work in my heart that has happened. And that's happened through the invitation for me to encounter God through his word and through study as much as through community.
I struggled with that more than the assignments! I’m a bit of an achiever, so I like to just get the work done – but entering community was a challenge because it meant that I needed to let my guard down and be ready to fail.
Bishopdale has been a community where I felt safe to be myself and to be present. It's been a place where I've been loved. It's been a place where I've been healed, and it's been a place where I've been challenged.
But I wouldn't have been able to take up that challenge to change unless I knew that I was being held, and that there were people journeying with me.
At the end of the day, we're not just students and we're not just lecturers.
And it's been such a privilege to be able to come together with so many incredible people and learn from one another and grow in faith together.
We couldn't have done that if it wasn't for the community that Bishopdale provides, and I’m really grateful for everyone who was involved in that journey. It’s made all the difference for me.
Check out other articles in the
series below.
More articles in the
series are to come.
