Like a chicken with its head cut off or like a one-armed paper-hanger: A day in the life of an ordinary seminarian.

You can take your pick of metaphors, but no matter how you slice it (so to speak) you've lost a body part.  I prefer to think I've not lost my head just yet...although that might be just around the corner.   Now, I knew that going to graduate school would be hard.  And I knew that going to Yale would be hard (they really let you know that here during orientation).  And I knew that it would be hard to do all of these things while also raising a small clan and getting dinner on the table every night, shopping, cleaning, socializing, and being "mom".  So it comes as no surprise that I have a lot to do!

Marvin the "Marcion"

Yesterday, for instance, was a typical Wednesday for me.  My day officially began at 7:30AM with Morning Prayer at St. Luke's, which is the Berkeley Divinity School's chapel.  From there I went up to school to prepare for my classes, which begin at 9:30AM.  After finishing up some very exciting reading from the Old Testament book of Exodus--"Make one cherub at one end, and one cherub at the other; of one piece with the mercy-seat^* you shall make the cherubim at its two ends...."--I went to my first class--Old Testament Interpretation.  This class is great!  The professor is hilarious--imagine Seinfeld as an Old Testament scholar--and the material, though dry at times, is fascinating.  From there I went to the library to read the rest of Sozomen Scholasticus' Ecclesiastical History, before going to my next class, Western Christian History to 451.  This class is also wonderful!  The professor once showed a clip of "Thriller" to illustrate what the Romans thought of the early Christians (as cannibals and people who worship the dead), and the heretic Marcion often shows up in his PowerPoint as Marvin the Martian.  After class I go to lunch in the Refectory to dine with my fellow students, and an occasional professor or dean.  Everyone at YDS has a meal plan, which is included as a mandatory fee with your tuition, and sharing meals together is really encouraged.  However, the food in the Refectory is not exactly 'gourmet', so I often bring my leftovers (which are still pretty good these days...we haven't resorted to ramen noodles just yet) and eat with my friends.

After lunch I went to my Christian History section meeting, which is the discussion group that meets once a week in addition to the two lectures in class each week.  The section meetings are nice because there is no discussion time during the class periods, and very little time for questions after the lecture, so this is where you actually get to talk about the readings with a small group.  When my section lets out I run, literally, home to relieve the nanny and meet the boys after school.

Every Wednesday evening the Berkeley Divinity School holds their weekly community Eucharist celebration in the Marquand chapel on the main Yale Divinity School campus.  It's like the Berkeley community's Sunday morning.  This particular Wednesday I was an acolyte at the bilingual service which was presided over by a Hispanic priest from a nearby town.  Because I was an acolyte I had to be at church early to get robed, go over the routine, and help out with last minute details, etc.  Because Eli wasn't going to be home by the time I needed to leave, we had a babysitter come over to fill in the gap.  Noah and Aristotle love to meet new people, and were thrilled to have my friend come over to the house, but poor Mary Frances was not so happy.  At any rate, I made it to church on time and everything went smoothly with the service, although I have to say, those torches are heavy!

After the service, everyone is invited to come to the Berkeley Center for a simple community dinner.  Eli and the kids met me there and we had dinner together with some of the new friends we have made since we arrived.  By the time I got home, it was nearly nine o' clock at night, and I had been gone from the house, save for an hour between when the nanny left and the babysitter arrived, since almost seven in the morning.  This, in turn, meant that I still had to finish up a homework assignment that was due the following morning and complete all of the readings for the next day.  By nine at night, there's only so much a woman can do. I did finish the assignment, but some of the readings got put on the back burner until this weekend when I'll get to them again.

All of this is to say that I have a lot to do, not just on Wednesdays, but every day!  It's a lot to keep up with.  When I showed up with fresh baked scones at morning prayer the other week someone said, "I don't know how you do it all."  I get this question a lot.  Others will say, "I don't know how you go to school and have three kids, etc., etc., etc.," or "you must be Superwoman." And here is my answer:  The Holy Spirit.  It's as simple as that.  I don't do it alone, and it is only with the Grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit that I am able to do anything that I do, let alone that I am able to do it well.  The Spirit works in my friends and family who support me, in my wonderful husband and ever-encouraging kids.  The Spirit gives me rest at night, and the fortitude to get through all the readings, write my papers, and sometimes be able to bake a batch of banana bread.  Today in chapel we were asked to write on a note card a reply to the following question: "What does the Holy Spirit do in your life?"  Everything!  Thanks be to God!