Hello everyone! So many people have asked to to journel my journey to seminary so here it is! This write up below, was to my church and I thought best explained where I am now! So much still to do, so little time! Enjoy!
July 2009
By now, I know you all have learned about my news of going to seminary! For those who don’t know all the details, I’ll give a little re-cap; since I have had so many people ask! I have been debating about going into ministry for a some time….at least 2 years, maybe a little longer. My mother says, I’ve been wanting to be in ministry since I was a child, when I used to play “church” and serve all my siblings smashed up bread and make them all say “Amen”! So let’s just say, the “seed” had been planted for a long time. As I continued to do more and more at the church, it just seemed like I was never getting “enough” of it. I wanted to be at church when I was anywhere else. I’d be at work wanting to be at the church. I wanted to learn more about the bible, Lutheran history and religion in general. I’ve just been intrigued by all of it all the time. Over the last couple of years, I felt myself drawing closer to God and God working and speaking through me in children’s sermons, bible studies and found myself, saying, “No, God, I don’t think you REALLY want me, do you?” When, REALLY what I was saying was, “No, God, I don’t want to leave the comforts that I have grown accustomed to”!! It was when I finally said, “Ok, Lord, I’ll go to seminary, I’ll do your will, but you’ve gotta help me!”, that I was FINALLY at peace. Well, sort of. It was a difficult decision for many reasons. It STILL is! Leaving my home of 12 years, my 2 best friends, my precious God Daughter Chloe (who continues to inspire me every time I’m around her), my apartment, my job, my puppy Lucy (THAT one is going to be hard!) and just the general comforts of my life. To pick up and move to a state and area I don’t know to go back to school full time, to go back to living in a dorm...to say the least, I am a bit nervous, yet I feel comforted. Strange, you say? Not really. From the beginning, in counseling with Pastor Pete, the one thing he kept saying to me over and over again was “If this is truly God’s will, then the doors will be opened.” As the doors continued to open, I keep walking; walking by faith that God will continue to provide; walking by his grace that all my reservations, fears, anxieties are normal and that I am not alone.
The lesson this month speaks about, in my opinion, the greatest story of walking in faith, ever told. Mary, the mother of Jesus, a woman of great faith, spoke powerful words. It has been interpreted in song for many years. Keith and I sang a duet last Christmas eve with these beautiful words, “My soul shall magnify the Lord. Let it be with me as the Lord says. I am his willing servant.” I remember crying as I sang those words last year, knowing that the Lord was speaking to me as I sang them. I have to admit, that the only time I had ever really spoke about or thought about Mary was only at Christmas, until I started going through my candidacy. NOW I get it! No, I didn’t have some angel appear that said, “Rosy, blessed are you, GO TO SEMINARY!” BUT, God has continued to work through me and I in him to help me accept my call. Mary may have been called, but she had to also make a CHOICE. She could have said, “No, I think I’d rather stay where I am. Can you find someone else?”. Mary’s choice to be a willing servant is something that I aspire to be. But Mary wasn’t the only one called. God called and spoke to Joseph. God called and spoke to Elizabeth. And God continues to work in all of us. The question is, are you truly a willing servant? God is not asking ALL of us to accept a call to ministry, but he is calling. As Pete mentioned in our bible study, some he calls to help at Network, some he calls to make quilts for Lutheran World Relief, some he calls to make communion bread, some he calls to be an assisting minister. God calls on us and blesses us which such abundance when we heed his call. Last month, I wrote about God’s timing. Perhaps now, is your time to say, “Yes, God, use me! I am a willing servant”!
As I start this new journey to seminary next month, I carry with me my faith, my passion for Christ and the willingness to continue to be his servant forever. All of this has been strengthened in me through my involvement with the community of believers that make up St. Luke’s. While I am nervous about this next chapter, I am confident that the prayers, blessings and support from all of you will be with me. There are a lot of unknowns, but what I know for sure is, my calling is real and as I face this next chapter of my life, I will never be alone. From Isaiah 40:31, "But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." (NIV) Thanks be to God!
Your Faithful Servant and Future Lutheran Pastor,
Rosalina Rivera
