Friday, May 21. We’re in St. Louis today. Denis has picked up his cap and gown. We’re making bread deliveries: Cranberry & Wild Rice. Seven Grain. Cheesy Chives & Potato. Fresh from a bakery in Rochester. There are people in the Admin department who make this place happen and they deserve a lot more than a loaf of bread as a thank you. Their patience, kindness and diligence has been part of what has made his seminary experience outstanding. What they do is a great work of being faithful in the ordinary and everyday. It was a pleasure to meet some of them and say thanks for all you do.
Denis has slowly been working on a seminary degree for the past number of years. Covenant has an excellent distance program so he could take courses at home in addition to getting down here for special weekend classes each year. Sometimes I came with him ostensibly to find space away from Toad Hall to find uninterrupted writing time. Not that it happened. I often ended up with friends. Or driving clear across town to that special coffee shop for what I can’t get in Rochester. Once we were snowed in at a hotel. Crazy. Really humbling because I’m such a braggart about how much snow we get in Minnesota.
Denis has been equally blessed by both his professors’ wisdom and their humility. Their mentoring and example has challenged him to think outside his normal interests. Christian/Muslim relations. Abuse. History of the church. He wouldn’t have traded all the travel, the mountains of books, the billion papers written late at night, or the sacrificed brain cells for anything in the world. Except for me. He’d trade for me. Tonight he graduates. I’m proud of his accomplishments. We also have a lot of friends who’ve been awfully tolerant of us through this journey. We're really grateful.
In Denis’ words:
My studies have provided me with three rich graces. The chance to study under godly, wise scholars whose love of Christ and knowledge of Scripture is remarkable. The chance to reflect on what I believe in an organized way. And the chance to have my walk with God deepened as I have been challenged anew to see all of life and culture under Christ's Lordship.
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9 comments:
Congratulations to Denis, and to you Margie for seeing him through it! I know you are both so proud-- and we (your friends) are proud as well.
Congratulations to you both! While you're in St. Louis I think you should celebrate with some gooey butter cake from Kaldi's Coffee... man I miss that stuff.
Congrats to Denis!
Margie, I sent an email your way today, hoping to Haack into your combined talents. Oh, that was terrible but I couldn't resist.
Thanks, Ed. I didn't suffer enough to be given credit for seeing him through!
Tim, we shoulda, but, sadly, I didn't get near Kaldi's. Could go for their coffee right now.
Sam, watch it. I've very sensitive about that word.
Sorry, Margie. I meant it in an entirely positive (and legal) sense. You two together are a wonder-twin consortium of giftedness and I got carried away.
Ed, I hope you knew I was TOTALLY kidding. The name Haack INVITES some flippancy.
In that case, I'm very sensitive about being called Ed. He seems to be much more polite than me. :)
A big congrats! We walked across that same stage 5 years ago, and I'm so glad we hung in on the long journey as well.
Congratulations!
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