This concept of (S)ending is woven into 天美视频 experience, from the moment students begin. Graduates of our programs are equipped to serve God and neighbor through transforming relationships in a variety of settings, and we hope these alumni continue as lifelong healers and learners in their communities and vocations. Through this transition process, 天美视频 seeks to bless and release people into the work they will do, choosing to embody a holistic and life-giving (S)ending. Our goal is to intentionally shape practitioners who are thriving years later, who survive the early phase of their vocational work well, and who care for themselves while also being held in community. In (S)ending, OSA and 天美视频 community seek to provide support and scaffolding, encouraging self-kindness and care for all that alumni will experience in the transition from graduate school into the early years of their vocation.

Graduating students are offered workshops covering topics such as resume writing, licensure resources, and alumni networking, as well as information on launching a private practice or non-profit. In addition to vocational planning, students are encouraged to consider the longer arc of formation and personal growth that will be continued after graduation.

Each February, at the weekend (S)ending retreat, graduating students are invited to remember the journey that brought them to 天美视频, revisiting their first assignment, a creative work centered on the concept 鈥淲ho Am I,鈥� and exploring questions about identity, expectations, and change. The retreat is offered in a hybrid format. Students attending in Seattle can process this transition through somatic experiences such as moving through the red brick building space and releasing body tension in massage therapy while students participating remotely engage their bodies within the spaces where they have engaged their work as low-residency students. We do this work together because graduates are entering a liminal space, and need to devote time and energy to self-care in order to see what emerges during these processes of grief, play, rest, and discovery.

At the (S)ending retreat, students are also introduced to the alumni community, including Alumni Chapters throughout the country, and the Alumni Quad鈥揳n alumni advisory board. It is important for graduating students to know they will have connections and a network of support. The relationship with 天美视频 is not ending but it is changed, as graduates are now part of a much larger community of lifelong learners. The culminating arc of (S)ending points to the feast at the Graduates鈥� Breakfast and the celebration of Commencement at the end of June 鈥� where graduates are welcomed as colleagues.

In the continual process of (S)ending, OSA gathers feedback from alumni in regular intervals of three to five years, and also consults the Alumni Quad, who meet one-on-one with Alumni each month to better understand the needs and vocational journeys of our graduates Alumni also come to the (S)ending retreat to share and discuss three areas: Where have they needed spiritually and where have those needs been met? What does it look like to find community as Alumni? And what have they needed for ongoing vocational development?

The impact of 天美视频 is not only embodied and held in our alumni, but also in the clients and community members served by our graduates. Becoming a good practitioner is a lifelong process of building capacity and deepening experience: practicing ending well is a skill that serves us all well, long after completing requirements for a degree at 天美视频. Through (S)ending each year, we hope that the newest cohort of alumni will be able to replicate this experience and share with others, serving and blessing God and neighbors in their continued journey throughout the world.

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Delirious, we stumble over the crest and onto what feels like another planet. There is no other way to describe this first glimpse of The Enchantments than otherworldly. Suffice it to say, there is a reason that I submit myself willingly to such physical and mental agony to be in that place. I have yet to find anywhere like it, and they lay hidden in the very mountains that I am now observing, the same mountains that watched over me as a child in the Leavenworth Valley. I completed my first through-hike in 2016 and have returned every year since. It鈥檚 as if I didn鈥檛 have a choice. I would beg my sister to never let me do this again while on the punishing ascent of Asgaard and be choosing which month would be best the following year by the time we were in the parking lot waiting for our uncle with melon as a treat for our struggle.

But this year was different.

We hiked mostly in silence. My sister stopped and took in views longer than normal. I was antsy, hiked ahead, waited, and looked around quickly.I just wanted to go home, to be done.

I realized that we were saying goodbye.

We dropped out of the Core Zone and started our descent, expertly navigating the trail and avoiding the accumulated mistakes of past years鈥� mishaps and wanderings. We plunked ourselves down for our ritual of whiskey, gummy candy, and lightening our pack of remaining snacks before the grueling plunge back to the valley floor.

鈥淒o you want to do this again next year?鈥� she asked in between gummys.
鈥淵ou know, I鈥檝e been thinking that I鈥檓 done,鈥� I replied as I sipped whiskey.

We were ending.

Of course, we told each other we would return again one day, but in our silences, we had come to a mutual understanding that something was different. There are myriad of reasons why this year was the last for a while: the high amount of traffic on the trail, the familiarity of the sights, the absence of mistakes, and therefore, challenges. Personally, too, my mind was no longer challenged in the same way. The past had absolutely been a physical challenge, but also a mental one as I learned to quiet my mind through the 14 hours and get back into my body. I looked forward to this time to reset every year鈥擨 needed it. This time, though, I was just present to what was around me.I had come home to my mind.

As I sit now, I realize that I had thought that this meant the mountain had nothing left to teach me. I had learned my lessons, I had passed the test.

But this, now, is the final lesson: To leave, to end, to finish, to say goodbye.

It seems no coincidence that in the same year that I end with The Enchantments I am also ending my time as a student. I am no longer being called back to the mountain in the same way that I am no longer being called back to the red brick building. Or, if it is a calling, I am refusing to go (sorry, John Muir, but I鈥檒l keep listening) because I know how important it is to end now.

In my final month in the building, I had written an essay about endings. I meant to submit it to the blog; it was a eulogy to my time as a student and employee at the school. I wrote about how frantic I had become at the end, trying to prepare for the future after school while missing out on what was in front of me. I was antsy, like I had been in the Enchantments, just wanting to skip to what was next and avoid the pain in front of me. The way forward, as I learned in the mountains, was to slow down and be present to the wonder around me. So then I wrote about how I would see groups of friends together around the old coffee-maker altar (how many times have we fellowshipped there?) and how I would have a jolt of awareness that this would no longer exist in a few months. It was ending. I was leaning into savoring the precious moments I had left.

We all know what happens next: COVID-19. We have all collectively had the breath knocked out of us in our particular griefs that have opened up from this pandemic. I feel speechless and gasping still, all of the words I had wanted to say feel empty and painful. The old essay is full of hope and goodness and poetry. It is not wrong, but it is no longer representative of what this particular ending means to me, to many of us.

So instead, like I do every summer, I return to the mountain which remains steadfast and faithful in a way only nature can right now. If I can summit that mountain in search of beauty despite the pain, I know I can end my time as a student and the plethora of endings and meanings that come with that simple act. And I can say: thank you. Thank you for allowing me to tread on your sacred and fragile terrain so that I may become whole again. Thank you for letting me fall in love with the world and myself again. Thank you for teaching me about my strength. Thank you for allowing me to curse you and stomp on you and still be welcomed into holy places. Thank you for being my prayer when I could no longer pray. In the words of the President of 天美视频, 鈥淭hank you, thank you, thank you.鈥�

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鈥淎s we send you forth, I have two charges for you: I鈥檓 charging you to a changed relationship with us, but I’m also charging you to a changed voice. Your voice is very different than when you first walked into the building. You didn鈥檛 know how your voice was going to change, you didn鈥檛 even know you had a voice, you didn鈥檛 even know what your voice was to be raised up for. And so, this is what I charge you to do: don鈥檛 you dare let anyone remove that voice from you.鈥�

reflects on the past four years of her tenure at 天美视频 and the profound change she herself has experienced. In her charge, she calls the class to sit with those they serve by cultivating a resurrection from the dead that they did not see coming. She recounts the resurrection story in John 20, translating as she reads from the original Greek, and emphasizes Mary鈥檚 charge to a different voice and relationship, something each student should also embrace upon leaving 天美视频.

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I want to know what happens next. I want to be certain that what I鈥檝e chosen, and what im choosing is going to pay off, is the right thing to do. Part of me absolutely wants this path to be level and free of pot-holes.

And I get to listen to this part a lot because this part is very loud.

But a quieter and more pervasive voice tells me to take a breath and step. Not knowing if the ground will truly rise up to meet me, because it might not. And still, I choose to step.

The poet John O鈥橠onahue says: 鈥淚 would love to live like a river flows, carried by the surprise of its own unfolding.鈥�

When the path is not level, when I find more ambiguity than certitude, when I lose my words, I turn towards poetry. Maybe you don鈥檛 know that you know poetry, but frankly our days are full of the stuff. A knowing beyond and below words. How do we begin to express birdsong, or the taste of a lovers tears? The color and light behind the eyes. A shift in barometric pressure right before a storm. How the leaves turn belly-up in the wind. Let alone a God who is present in all of these.

Our Bodies know. Words can help us remember and integrate the shock and shook of surprise but they cannot fully express the knowing our bodies carry. Poetry gets us closer, poetry changes the way we listen, because poetry is not based on the absolutes that fear would have us reach for.

Theologian Yvonne Gabares says 鈥減oetry orients us in the language of relatedness, which is intuitive and approximate and inclusive.鈥� Poetry roots me in my story so I can begin to wonder about yours. With that in mind, and to honor this sacred time of not knowing, or at least not knowing that we know.

I wrote something like a benediction, and if any of this resonates within you, then it is meant for you too. It鈥檚 called, 鈥淪ighting.鈥�

God鈥檚 gaze on you, now, is absolute favor
God鈥檚 gaze on you is honor
Her gaze is love without exception
And maybe right now you feel this with more particularity
God鈥檚 gaze on you is delight
And if you鈥檙e like me, it鈥檚 hard to stay in this awareness
If you鈥檙e like me you want some-one鈥檚 gaze, you want someone to tell you that you are the chosen one
You want
You want to hear from someone farther along this road, that not only is this the right road, but also you are uniquely gifted for the journey, the work you are about to do, and you are about to do great things
I have to tell you, no one chose you
Someone did not choose you

The world did not choose you to save it
You fell in love
You fell in love
The world in all its beauty and pain is where you met God

And you fell in love and decided to stay
You chose yourself
You chose to finally turn toward you
To consider what you鈥檝e done
What you鈥檝e left undone
You鈥檝e chosen to begin to find the parts of you that hid so long ago
What courage you had to stay alive
What courage you have to be found
You have seen what harm can do
And you have harmed
And you won鈥檛 let harm be the end of the story because you smashed the form
And from the pieces you are making something new
No the world did not choose you, to save it, to seek reconciliation, healing, you chose
You chose to wonder at its strange stories through your own
To put your blood and sweat and groaning to the world
To this work of earth
To this work that asks you to stay close to you, even as you move out into the world
You chose you
You could have slept through it all, and maybe you did a little
But you chose to wake, and to keep waking, and you chose to wake in your bodies
You chose to reclaim your shapes for yourself
You chose to make some noise
You chose it all
As you choose now
In the words of the poet, 鈥渨hat will you do with your one wild and precious life.鈥�

God鈥檚 gaze on you, anticipation.
And you, you bold and bent people, you are loved.

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Adventure is in my bones. Adventure drives me, calls me, pulls me, invites me. Adventure is that which climbs heights and yet descends into the abyss. Adventure is stepping into the wild unknown.

Adventure is what has brought me here.

Another word for this adventure, is hope. And just like adventure, hope is risk. Hope traverses the highest heights and the lowest lows. Hope takes courage. To quote Dan Allender, hope will kill you.

I didn鈥檛 intend to be a student at 天美视频. It wasn鈥檛 the place or the reason I packed everything I owned into my sedan and trekked across the country. I had set my course elsewhere, on an adventure to find…well, I wasn鈥檛 quite sure yet. I was following a pull and seeking the articulation of my hope. That鈥檚 why it was an adventure. But then several years ago I walked into our red brick building, first as a staff member and eventually a student. I submitted my graduate school application with fear and uncertainty; it was the feeling of trading perhaps a clearer vocational path elsewhere for a world of open-ended questions that I was meant to ask and discover. Where is God in the midst of heartache, evil, and trauma? Who am I and how does my existence impact the world? Asking these questions began a terrifying adventure into hope and desire that I could not deny.

Hope is the promise of the goodness of God. Hope is the dream that spurs you on. Hope is elated and excited and on top of the world. And hope is persistence; it is trusting that in the depths of the darkness, the light can be found. Hope invites you into death and also promises resurrection.

This past year, my final year at 天美视频, I had no further classes to complete but my focus was solely on the completion of my Integrative Project. This project which had been a part of me for years, growing and forming from within was ready to be birthed. And during this same year of birthing something new, I faced more personal deaths and endings than I could bear, including the sudden loss of my mother-in-law and the decision to end my time as a staff member. There were times where hope felt too distant to be real.

There is grief in the ending, any ending, but, in a very tangible and non-ethereal way, there is hope in what lies ahead. As we end our tenure at 天美视频, I鈥檓 reminded that every ending is a taste of both the reality of death but also the hope of resurrection.

We have explored the heartaches and griefs and traumas that scarred us and we have followed the calling of hope for who we are now and who we are yet to become.

The challenge for us is to acknowledge the scars left by the ending, while still leaning into healing and the hope for resurrection. We leave this place and our red brick building standing in that tension between the two.

Emily Dickinson writes:

鈥淗ope鈥� is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all

Hope, is your deep seated longing, an invitation to taste and see. It is the places that make your heart sing without ceasing. It is the dream within your soul that you are birthing to life, trusting in the promises of God to resurrect and renew. So for our hearts to begin to dream of redemption, to hope, opens our hearts to what is not and what will one day be. Today we stand in these caps and gowns, walk across this stage, and receive the degree that was born of this hope. We have each tasted hope, and know that the adventure stirring within us is now coming forth.

May it be so.

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I want to begin today by asking each of you鈥攁s you are willing and able鈥攖o turn your palms toward the ceiling right now and to look at them.

I invite you to consider the lines criss-crossing in unique patterns of creases and arches and loops, remembering these inscriptions in your flesh bear witness to the place where you began: in the holy darkness of another body, before you ever took in air and before the light ever saw you, that you and I come from somewhere and someone, and in some ways鈥攖hough not all鈥攚e are forever marked by where we came from.

These past four years at 天美视频 for me have involved tending to the marks that live below my skin鈥攖he ways my body holds memories, especially those painful memories that one could consider scars, or even wounds.

For me, these parts of myself have felt most unbearable to look at, let alone touch, let alone be seen or touched by anybody, even the most compassionate witnesses.

And yet for the past four years I have been invited to do that honoring and excruciating work with you, which to me often felt more like fumbling than any sort of transformation. Actually it often felt worse than fumbling. More like flailing, or failing, or falling.

But as I considered these marks over and over and over again, I started to feel that the very places I most feared or hated or denied within myself could not only survive being witnessed by myself and others, but could even begin to heal thanks to that holy witness, or to borrow Hannah Seppanen鈥檚 term, 鈥渨ithness.鈥�

天美视频 Graduates of 2019, I think about all of us dressed in black polyester gowns today, a sort of symbol that we shared something in common for a time. But it is just as true for me to say we remained and remain profoundly different in the ways we were and are marked, which means I find myself wanting to bless the worlds鈥攚orlds!鈥攜ou brought into this community. You shared your worlds with me and one another. Thank you.

And now, since we are being sent forth into bigger worlds again, I bless you. I bless those of you who will dance down the streets of Seattle tomorrow wearing rainbows and offering your beloveds a holy kiss. I bless those of you who will faithfully bear the memory of Jesus as womanist theologian Kelly Brown Douglas says, 鈥渂eing in the world as he was…entering into solidarity with the crucified class in any given context.鈥� I bless those of you who will sit in an office with someone who is bringing their world and their wounds into the open for the very first time.

And now, I am left wanting to offer one more blessing. Dr. Parker, this is your last commencement ceremony. We began our time at 天美视频 together, and we are ending our time together. I hope you know that forever, forever, as long as I live as a white American Christian woman I will be marked by your example as a black woman, a womanist New Testament scholar, a pastor, and a most cherished professor. I bless you and Victor on the road to Atlanta tomorrow, to the city where Katie Cannon earned her seminary degree, to a part of the country where your family is waiting for you, to a learning community that is already blessed because you are on your way to them. Thank you for everything here. Thank you.

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So the question arises: What next? Besides celebrating with loved ones (and maybe taking a nap), how do you mark the end of such a significant chapter and begin transitioning toward whatever鈥檚 ahead? We shared that question鈥擶hat should I do after graduation?鈥攚ith our alumni community, asking for advice, stories, and resources. Here are some of their answers:

Explore

• 鈥淎fter I graduated I gave myself two full months to live life before I started looking for a job. I road tripped and camped through Crater Lake, Grand Tetons, and Rocky Mountain National Parks for about two weeks and then traveled to Rome, Morocco, and Los Angeles. I did all of this because I wanted to revisit some significant places in my story and have a new adventure to reclaim the part of myself I set down as school took up so much time and space. I鈥檓 forever grateful I was able to do these things so I could get centered again, remember that the world is big and beautiful and full of possibility, and take that stance/mindset to step into my professional role as a therapist.鈥� 鈥揔rystina Ptasinski (MA in Counseling Psychology, 鈥�16)
• 鈥淎fter graduation, I went on a pilgrimage to Norway鈥攁 decision prompted by several classes I鈥檇 taken, including Multicultural Perspectives and Celtic Spirituality. My pilgrimage was to explore the (primary) land of my ethnic/ancestral roots. I knew that I had family scattered about Norway鈥攏ot many contacts, but enough info to risk going.鈥� 鈥揈ric Nicolaysen (Master of Divinity, 鈥�12)

Center

• 鈥淭wo things that were helpful for me: 1) Go to the doctor and get a full physical. Grad school can be stressful, and stress is tough on your body. Get a full picture of your physical health and make some plans to recover. 2) Take a lot of naps over the next few months. You have probably lost a lot of sleep over the last few years, and graduation in and of itself is wonderfully exhausting. Get some rest!鈥� 鈥揂shley Wright (MACP, 鈥�16)
• 鈥淚 think everybody should join me on a . Let鈥檚 get out of the city, inhale the ridiculous beauty of the Pacific Northwest, gain healing wisdom from Mother Earth, and reconnect with our own inner, still voices.鈥� 鈥揗ichelle Allen (MACP, 鈥�14)

Read?

• 鈥淭his one probably seems preposterous, since right now some of you might feel like you never want to look at a book again. But the summer after graduation, I listened to of the entire Harry Potter series (yes, audiobooks count) and it was exactly what I needed鈥攁 sweeping, fantastic story that managed to transcend my day-to-day life while still helping me feel more closely connected to the world around me.鈥� 鈥揃eau Denton (MACP, 鈥�17)
• If you鈥檙e looking for summer reading ideas, check out these faculty recommendations for incoming students on the Matriculate blog. Because every ending is really another beginning, right?

Whether you鈥檙e graduating next week or just looking forward to a couple months without classes, we hope the summer ahead is full of rest, connection, and the opportunity to grow more deeply into yourself. And in the meantime, we鈥檇 love to see you at Commencement next Saturday鈥攅ither in person at Town Hall or , where we鈥檒l be streaming the whole ceremony live.

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We鈥檙e thrilled to be returning to the recently renovated Town Hall Seattle for this year鈥檚 ceremony鈥攁 fittingly beautiful space for such a meaningful event. Commencement is a foundational part of 天美视频鈥檚 annual rhythm, full of ritual, symbolism, beauty, and depth to help mark the transformational work to which these students have committed themselves鈥攁nd to welcome them into 天美视频鈥檚 thriving network of more than 1,100 alumni around the world who are pursuing innovative, life-changing work as therapists, pastors, leaders, and artists.

Each year, faculty and graduates select three student speakers鈥攐ne from each degree program鈥攁nd one student to offer a special vocal selection. This year鈥檚 student speakers will be Stephanie Johnson (MDiv), Cameron Carter (MATC), and Sarah Steinke (MACP), with a vocal selection from Jana Detrick (MACP). Dr. Angela Parker, Assistant Professor of Biblical Studies, will deliver the official Charge to Graduating Students.

The ceremony will also include time to honor Dr. Steve Call, Associate Professor of Counseling Psychology, and Dr. Angela Parker as they conclude their final academic year as core faculty at 天美视频. as Assistant Professor of New Testament and Greek in the McAfee School of Theology at Mercer University in Atlanta, GA, and Dr. Call will be devoting more time to his family, private practice, and growing farm near Bellingham, WA.

鈥淐ommencement is a sacred space,鈥� says Dr. J. Derek McNeil, Acting President and Provost. 鈥淚t is a moment to give thanks to the grace of God for the journey and to affirm a renewed call to life鈥檚 adventure and service.鈥�

This is sure to be a holy, memorable occasion鈥攆ull of the solemnity of any significant ending, the relief of completing an epic journey, and the hope-filled determination of knowing that our graduates鈥� stories of learning and transformation will not end in the classroom, but will draw them deeper and deeper into the movement of healing in the communities around them. As we near the end of our 21st year, we are more grateful than ever for the world-changing work of our alumni, and we hope you will join us as we welcome our 2019 graduates into that community. More details are on our event calendar, and we鈥檒l be streaming the whole ceremony live for those who can鈥檛 make it in person. All are welcome!

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This month on the Intersections blog, we are exploring the art of nurturing our identity and formation in a way that allows us to continue growing in wisdom, empathy, and clarity of calling. It is a challenge to open ourselves to the care and sustenance needed to sustain deep, meaningful service in the places of deep need all around us. And in order to open ourselves to care, we must also be able to identify the places of our identities that are still impacted and influenced by our histories of harm and internalized messages of shame.

In that vital, difficult work, we were deeply inspired by the research and insights offered by Gabes Torres, MA in Counseling Psychology student, MA in Theology & Culture alumna, and Program Assistant for The Allender Center, as she presented her Integrative Project in 2018. Gabes鈥檚 project, 鈥�Ang Mga Sugatang Kamay na Naghain sa Lamesa (The Scarred Hands that Set the Table)鈥擳he Violation of Hospitality: Consequences from Centuries of Colonization in the Philippines,鈥� wrestles with the painful scars that grow out of colonialism.

For this project, Gabes interviewed a Filipino woman who works in hospitality industries in the United States. Gabes describes the woman鈥檚 impulse toward subservience鈥攁 fear of saying no, challenging authority, or naming experiences of harm鈥攖hat is common among Filipino workers. Gabes argues that that subservience is a reflection of the manipulation and corrupt power dynamics at the heart of colonialism and imperialism.

鈥淭he irony here is in the fact that these events are taking place within the context of hospitality industries, and these reports violate the very meaning of hospitality,鈥� says Gabes. 鈥淏ecause the true practice of hospitality exists in the mutuality of responsibility and roles between host and guest, where there is a shared power, there is an equal value, acceptance, protection, service, and respect towards one another.鈥�

鈥淭he true practice of hospitality exists in the mutuality of responsibility and roles between host and guest.鈥�

To unpack the ongoing effects of colonization in Filipino culture, tradition, and even sense of self, Gabes says it is important to take a look at history and follow the narrative threads that are still very much at play today. But Gabes advises caution in doing so, since most of the dominant historical narratives propagate the belief that explorers and colonizers helped advance a 鈥減rimitive鈥� culture, rather than exposing the violence and irreversible harm brought by colonization. To meaningfully reflect on where we are today, we must be willing to tell the full, honest stories of where we have been.

鈥淣ot only do the artifacts of Spanish colonization and American imperialism spread out in language, in architecture, in our very names, but also in the ideas of the Filipinos, their ideas about themselves, and others, and their relationship to others,鈥� says Gabes. 鈥淚t is also very disturbing to realize that we do not need to be in North America to see the impact and pervasiveness of American exceptionalism and white supremacy.鈥�

Gabes argues that the end result of colonialism is an erasure of the self. Colonized people are taught to welcome and accommodate others at the expense of welcoming themselves as they are, and in the process the self is compromised and rejected. In response to this reality, Gabes ends her presentation with a letter that she wrote to her ancestors鈥攁 stunning, insightful work of art, and a profound assertion and celebration of self in the face of systemic harm.

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I would not have imagined, two years ago, that I would be standing here at this podium. 22 months ago, I rolled up to a brick building on the corner of Elliott and Wall with doubt and hope mingling in my heart. I say rolled because I was coasting through life on a roller scooter. I had broken my foot two months before relocating to Seattle. The first day of graduate school can set anyone off balance, let alone one who is literally learning to balance on one foot due to a broken bone in the other. I had doubts: would I be able to make it, on one leg? Would I be able to do this work? Would the Holy Spirit actually meet me here?

As it turns out, I didn鈥檛 need to worry. It is the kindness of Jesus which leads us to repentance. It is the fire of the Holy Spirit, who in her intentional ferocity introduces us to healing through such wild means as painting and water. It is Father God, who so entirely knocks down our foundations in order to rebuild them on new ground. The three collaborate, crumbling our faulty foundations in order to set us on wide open spaces, at great heights, on suddenly steady feet.

This is the work that is done here, at this quirky, renegade seminary disguised as a counseling school. Tucked off Elliott Bay in the fog of Seattle, we do really good work. We consent to the leading of the Holy Trinity through really good work. What I鈥檝e learned at 天美视频 is that our vulnerability strengthens other people. My vulnerability helps me to stand strong and true in myself; in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

鈥淲hat I鈥檝e learned at 天美视频 is that our vulnerability strengthens other people.鈥�

For much of my life, I lived as a dynamic flower, timidly hiding the beauty of her petals. This community of vulnerability and lament helped me to realize that though I had been pummeled, battered by wind and waves, attacked by enemy invaders鈥擨 was beautiful. Despite the wounds I had experienced and the scars I had carried as a result, I was resilient. I was already tenacious, but given this new opportunity to explore my belovedness, I soon realized that I wanted to grow more than I wanted to remain in hiding. The kindness of Jesus had met me in my brokenness, the relentless Holy Spirit had swept me up in her winds and delivered me to the throne room of Father God. I no longer wanted to hide. I wanted to bloom. I wanted to shine.

In its aggravating, challenging, transformative way, Seattle has led me through a process of learning to do just that. Through entering into the vulnerability of exposing inner pain in community, I find myself transformed throughout the time I have spent with these people, in the spaces we鈥檝e shared.

We have each walked, climbed, and fought through the good, healing work which was laid out for us. Now, it is time to celebrate! To honor each other; to bask in our accomplishments; to remember the mountains we have climbed and the One(s) who have carried us to their summits. It’s time to gaze out at the view from where we stand, soundly, on the high places.

As we move forward into the next season of our lives, the challenge I present is this:

鈥淒o not run from the fear that stands between you and what you have been called to do; Run at it. Your freedom, and the freedom of those you fight for, is on the other side of that fear. You need not be afraid, for They are with you. The Trinity goes before you…all that鈥檚 left to do is run. Run fiercely, and let the glory of God be revealed through you. As you do, break out into an explosive grin…for you have done it! You have left behind the fear, and stepped out into His glorious light. Is it not truly glorious?鈥�

For this honor, I thank you.

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