Things

Loss.

I lost a lot of things recently. Books. Decorations. Notes. Pictures. Clothes. Shoes. Things only with sentimental value. Loss of one thing that hit me hard was an external hard drive. I had spent weeks scanning binders full of class notes and assignments from my time at seminary. Instead of shipping close to 10 three-inch binders, I had all the files saved on that external hard drive. The one that didn't make it. The pages had long been thrown away, and there were no other backups. Five years of hard work and knowledge were gone. Poof.

Tears were definitely shed, make no mistake, but it did cause me to reflect upon my time at seminary. What is the goal of seminary? Originally, I went to gain knowledge. I wasn't raised in the church and was thoroughly lacking in the biblical and theological understanding I felt was essential for a missionary. But if knowledge is all I gained, or is all to be gained, then my experience at seminary was incomplete and only a shadow.

At seminary, I gained not only knowledge but also brothers and sisters and co-laborers in Christ. I gained wisdom, experience, resources, understanding, and purpose. I gained healing, strength, and conviction. I gained my God and who He created me to be. Fortunately, these are things that can never be lost. Praise the Lord for that! Losing the hard drive was a great loss, and it's okay to say that, but I gained so much more than could ever be contained within it.

Gain. 

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