My Western Seminary Application Part 2 — The Result
This is the second part of the story. If you haven’t read the first part of this story, read it here. The first part of this story was writing the rough draft of this story and my life as a journal using the short questions given for the application.
To answer a few questions about the first story. My mom blocked my brother from visiting her in the hospital because of how he visited her all the time, making her stressed out. She wanted to see me, but because we’re all wearing a mask due to the quarantine, the informational desk wouldn’t know who I am. This prevented me from visiting her.
To summarize the first part, I started applying to Western Seminary. Before I applied, I spoke with my employer’s human resources to see how educational benefits work. After I got the information to understand how the benefits work, I made an appointment to talk with counselors to get information on how the education system works. I scheduled the appointment at the beginning of the week, sometime around November, to speak with a counselor on a Friday afternoon. That same week, I received a phone call on a Thursday from the hospital informing me that my mom had a heart attack and spent time in the hospital. The doctor said she’s fine. Thank God! After getting the information I needed, God is giving me the green light to apply. Right when I started my application that Saturday, the spiritual attacks got worse.
After I finally turned in my application with those grammatical errors, my admission counselor informed me that I might not be admitted because I wrote the short answers roughly; however, praise God for his goodness and grace. The counselor I was working with told me that she reversed the application submitted and gave me more time to write the short answers. Because of how good God is and how the application submission payment was waived, I continued to glorify him by using that money to buy an app that will help me write errorless papers. I then resubmitted my application about two weeks ago.
Through all of this, I was informed that my mom needed someone to watch her after her open-heart surgery. Because I work from home and I could help her with all her medical needs, no one else could do it but me. It’s been rough having her with me these past weeks because of the spiritual attacks. I was highly exhausted, waking up in the middle of the night to help my mom. I had anxiety because the nurses and doctors informed me of why I should bring her to the ER or call 911. My mom is very fragile because of all the medical reasons. This past week I did that. I brought her to the ER almost every day at random times. Praise God that she was fine the first few times. On one of the drives back to my house, I told mom, “you have to thank God…I almost died. I’m not supposed to be here. I wouldn’t be in this position in life having my own place for me to take care of you. You have to thank God that I have a car to drive to the ER and that I work from home. Thank God that I live only 15 minutes away from the hospital. Thank God that I can watch you. Thank God that He provided all of this for you to make sure you could stay alive to spend time with your grandchild and your family. If no one else could have watched her, what would have happened to you.”
Yesterday, December 17th, 2020, I brought her to the ER again, and this time she’s been admitted. The doctor’s told me that she had a stroke. I got to thank God for the prayers. Even my previous pastor from my former church in Oakland contacted me out of nowhere and wanted to check on me. The crazy part is that I didn’t tell him anything about the application, and God appointed him to contact me for more encouragement. He told me not to worry about seminary, and surprisingly, he is also currently taking classes at Western Seminary.
Through all this bad news, a lot of good news has happened. One example is my health. I lost weight, and I don’t need to check my blood sugar levels anymore. After the intense week of helping out my mom, I received a phone call this morning, December 18th, 2020, from the Western Seminary admission counselor. I was ready to hear the bad news that I got denied because getting denied would mean that I am done with the discernment of being a pastor. Through this application, I learned that I no longer have power over my own life and that my life is now in God’s hands. Instead of hearing denial, I heard more good news. The admission counselor told me that I got accepted, and I am starting classes in May 2021. The same month as my birth month. I got to thank God for many amazing birthday gifts I’ve had these past few years, but those are other testimonies…This is just an amazing way to start a new blog for my pastoral journey.
