The New Normal

Ever wondered what the definition of bleary-eyed looks like? Look no further.....

This is me pondering my New Normal - at 6.45am yesterday morning, waiting for the train to London.

I will be doing this journey every Monday in term time for the next two years and so, although I wasn't outside the front door, it still felt right to mark my "first day at school", in the now time-honoured fashion.

6.45am doesn't sound too bad when you write it down but it felt much earlier than that, as I'm not a great morning person at the best of times. Getting up and getting going has always been M's strength, not mine, and so my 5.50am alarm yesterday got short shrift and a few choice words from me and a quietly knowing chuckle from the sleepy form next to me!

The early start was worth it, though.  I really loved my first full, proper day at college.  I think it's probably safe to say that everyone took things gently for us newbies but we did have real lectures with real work attached and, for someone who has never tried to study Theology before, it was exciting to be shown that I can think and reflect in a way that means I'll probably be able to do this work! I'm sure that that first lecture on Theological Reflection is specifically designed to be encouraging but it certainly worked for me and I appreciated it.

"Formation" happens in the afternoon, mostly with a specific Formation group. Apparently this can be anything from discussing very practical aspects of being a vicar and trying out preaching on each other, to sharing where we are spiritually and emotionally. We all met yesterday for the first time and my group is an eclectic mix of really interesting people, who clearly have a few stories to tell! I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone.

For an extrovert like me, the whole set up at St Mellitus College is brilliant - everyone is all together for refreshment breaks and lunch and there was an easy buzz around the place with all the 2nd and 3rd years back together and the rest of us talking and sharing bits of background with each other. Like any first day, everyone was very definitely on best, smiley behaviour but I did genuinely feel like smiling!

So the first day is done. I'm sure the work will get harder and, as the assignments start to loom, I'll be feeling less relaxed but I'm more sure than ever that I'm studying in the right place with the right people. Having waited to start training since my Bishops Advisory Panel (amusingly known as the "BAP") back in October last year, I'm so grateful that I've got going now, however early I had to get up to do it.

And the start will only get earlier in a couple of weeks as I've opted to do New Testament Greek, which will start at 8.30am... I will almost certainly question my sanity when the alarm goes off that morning...  But, like with everything else in this New Normal, I know that I need to drink in every opportunity to learn and understand as much as I can about God, his word and his ways over the next two years.
I won't get the chance to study like this again so I'll take the early mornings and bumpy train rides and the industrial quantities of caffeine and remain grateful that God has called me to sing this new song.