A blog post originally written for the Union Presbyterian Seminary Richmond Student Government Assembly blog.

Last night, I had a dream where I was running. I wasn’t running from anything; rather, I was running to something. I’m not sure what that something was (dreams can be so vague like that) but I was attempting to run a total of 12 miles in four 3 mile chunks (dreams can also be weirdly specific like that). I woke up before I completed those miles. This morning I realized my dream evokes the Ragnar Relay, a two day, 200 mile running relay race where teams of 6 or 12 people alternate running three legs each of various difficulties and distances until together they cross the finish line.

I’ve run the Washington, DC Ragnar Relay for the last two years, and it might be the craziest thing I’ve ever done (besides heed God’s call to seminary, of course). Last year, I ran it with 11 other members from my home church and it was in the midst of a hurricane. When we weren’t soaking wet, we were freezing, and when we weren’t running, we were huddled in a minivan, cramping up instead of getting washed away outside. Naturally, spending 36 hours in a van with 5 other sweaty, tired people lent itself to quality fellowship and epic stories. But the thing I loved most about the Ragnar Relay is the fact that I couldn’t do it alone. I need those 11 other people on my team to get from Point A (in our case, the mountains of Maryland) to Point B (DC). And not only that, I needed those teammates to cheer me on when I started and finished each leg. There were times I wanted to quit. (Running up a mountain in the rain at 2 am is not exactly fun.) There were even more times I asked myself why I was doing it. But then I would remember my team, and how they needed me just as much as I needed them.

Theological education is like this too. It’s a bit less physically demanding. But without my “team,” I wouldn’t make it. Without the support of classmates, Union administration, my family, home church members and friends, I would not have the energy or motivation or wherewithal to get from Point A to Point B.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately as we wrap up the 2015-2016 school year. I’ve personally finished my first of four years, as I take off May term to rest and gear up for the next leg of my race. Others are about to cross the finish line as they stare graduation in the face and wonder what life after seminary will look like. We’re all in different parts of this journey. Some of us will only be here for two years; others of us might take four or more. Some of us are nervous about taking our first Testament course; others of us are hoping that we’ve met all of the requirements to graduate on time.

We’ve come a long way in our race this year. Our community has welcomed a new class of students and adjusted to having more of them live off campus. We cheered on the UCI Road World Championships bike racers as they zoomed down Brook Road. We broke bread together at Halloween, Thanksgiving, Easter and a hundred other times in between. We played flag football, ultimate frisbee, kickball and board games. We survived a couple of feet of snow and, more recently, two straight weeks of rain. We prayed, worshiped, traveled, laughed, cried and rejoiced together. We were a team. But our team is changing.

To those of you who reach Point B – graduation – on June 4: Congratulations! Did you think this day would ever come? Thank you for being a part of the “team” here at Union. Each one of us who came to this place after you can count you as an important part of their theological education. You have broken ground and paved paths before us that we travel on today. You are loved, and you will be missed.

To those of you who still have some legs left: Keep running. Next year brings the start of an exciting new partnership with Shalom Farms, the unveiling of the new Richmond Hall and the Syngman Rhee Global Mission Center, new apartments on the Westwood Tract, progress on new degree programs, an entirely new incoming class and so much more. Our team is evolving. And with it, so must we.

So, rest up. Take some time for yourself this May or this summer or whenever you can before the next leg begins here in Richmond on September 12. We’ll have a lot of ground to cover!

Guide my feet while I run this race.

Guide my feet while I run this race.

Guide my feet while I run this race,

for I don’t want to run this race in vain!

Guide My Feet, The Faith We Sing #2208

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