A few weeks ago, I received written confirmation of my approval for ordination in the ELCA. It felt rather anti-climatic. The envelope was your standard business envelope, pre-printed with the MNYS logo in the left corner, and an American Flag forever stamp in the right. My name was spelled right (thankfully) and the address field was solid. The envelope contained two pieces of paper. One was, a lovely cover letter from the head of the candidacy committee and, the other, a one page form with the committee’s decision. That final form was just one side of the page, printed in color, and using a very boring template from Formatta Filler (which, for some reason, is still around). It is a template that, sadly, sucks the life away from its viewer. Document templates don’t need to be exciting but they shouldn’t be a blackhole for energy and feeling.
But I digress.
So, with paper in hand, I’m currently in the process of awaiting assignment. This process has been a little unnerving so far and I’m not quite sure what to write about it mostly because I don’t know yet how to wrap my head around it. The anxiety of the approval process is now matched by the anxiety of waiting for assignment after my restriction request was denied. I sit, not worried, but just anxious about what the future will bring. I trust God that it’ll work out and I will end up where I am to go but a little direction would be nice.