all that we've been waiting for

hard to believe that tomorrow is it ... the German Reading Exam.

I arrived in IL eight and one-half weeks ago and began the roller coaster ride of Theological German studies.

now it comes down to tomorrow, August 14.

a Thursday afternoon.

1 pm, CST.

my classmates and I have studied, we have prepared, we have done exercises, and we have prayed together and for one another and for all of our fellow German students.

a number of us have formed the new friendships that such a common and intense experience brings - new friendships that are necessary and required if one wants to survive not only the summer of German, but also the Ph.D. program in general.

Jake, Lance, middle Dave, Scott, Craig, and Neal and I have varying degrees of friendship, and we have shared jokes, family stories, past experiences of ministry and studies, and offered one another trust.

tomorrow several of us will meet before the exam for prayer - to calm ourselves, to bring focus, to offer petitions, pleas, and requests, to beg that somehow, in someway, the journal article excerpt that we are to translate will be easy enough, and that we will all do well enough in accuracy and amount that Herr Professor will be glad to recommend we pass.

this is it.

all that we've been waiting for.

may You, O LORD, our God, have mercy on us, and give us the grace to bring You glory, and for us to do well.

Amen.