#135 Getting Away from It All

Next to Calvin Theological Seminary is a pretty large pond. There are a lot of weird and wonderful things about the seminary building, but in my opinion, the sem pond is far and away the best part of the seminary's space. You can see a bit of the pond in this picture of Tess and me from my graduation:

Seminary life can often be hectic, stressful, and confusing. The sem pond, however, is usually calm and quiet. I can't say that I frequently visited the sem pond while I was a student at Calvin, but I do have some very good memories of sitting out there on sunny days. On one end of the pond, water gently flows over some rocks and drops into the pool. Near the other end a little green island floats between a couple neat bridges. From time to time ducks rest and swim and play at the pool. As I sit here thinking about the sem pond I can feel myself relaxing. It is a beautiful place.

When I was next door to the seminary at Calvin College for synod (my denomination's annual meeting) a couple weeks ago, I fled to the sem pond for refuge several times during breaks. After hours of meetings and discussion I would feel like my sanity was slipping away. But sitting by the sem pond or strolling back and forth on the island helped me unwind. Here was space away from all the people and busyness. Here I could watch ducklings scurry after their mother and listen to water trickling and babbling down to the pond. Here I could feel the warmth of the sun and breathe deeply as I walked across lush green grass. The sem pond reminded me that life was still going on outside of synod, that the whole world didn't depend on our decisions. By the sem pond God gave me enough peace to get through the week. Just another reason to love the sem pond.

Grace and peace,
BMH