Yesterday evening, I sent my doctoral treatise to my director at Catholic University of America. It took almost five years to get to that point of hitting the send button, but in a flash, it was on it’s way, to begin the final stage of reaching my goal of achieving a doctorate. All that’s left to do now is my defense. While still a big deal, it will be nothing like getting up in the morning each day at 3 am to begin working for four hours on this document, coming in at 191 pages.
These past five years have been filled with twists and turns, doubt and conviction, stress and peace. I was with my men’s group yesterday afternoon and I was telling them that I really don’t have something in my past to compare this with. So, that email marked, in my mind, the end of something, and it’s receipt by my director on the other end, a new beginning.
If St. Ignatius were sitting here with me right now, he’d tell me that, in the end, this isn’t about me, or what I’ve been able to do. No, he would say it’s about being able to do more for God. I like that, because it keeps me humble, and I need to keep that wisdom on the forefront of my mind going forward. When you get down to it, so much in life, despite our best efforts otherwise, isn’t really about us. Whenever we think we can strike out on our own, and that it’s all about what we can do by ourselves, we miss something very important. God’s abiding presence in our lives. St. Ignatius called it “finding God in all things.” No matter what twists and turns might be in our lives, He’s there if we seek Him with all our heart. That’s our job. God will take care of the rest.
