i felt like Tim Robbins after persevering in Hope through the filth and muck sometimes life throws at you

i am close friends with the funniest man in America. You haven't heard of him yet, but you will. He is a cross between Jon Stewart and Will Ferrell, with a Christian conservative bent. Last time i was in Chicago i called him while waiting at the airport for my bus...he kept tacking on "in Chicago" to everything either one of us said.

So i called him and said "in Chicago." he was like...you're 'in Chicago.' Yes, J, yes i am. i thought i was beating him to the punch, but it just wasn't the same. It wasn't the same, either, when i got off the phone with him just in time to get a phone call from the left coast. Pepperdine. Full scholarship. As in, them to me.

I danced in the street. Not really a jig [inspiration: AH]...but, well, it was probably more like a geriatric being electrocuted or something. That, however, is not important. What is important is only that it was an instantaneous outpouring expression of my gratitude to the Father who always provides for His children. And I lifted up my hands to Him and just started thanking Him.

It was almost like that scene in Shawshank Redemption, actually....because it was raining. I should have taken my coat and shirt off, in retrospect. Ah well, the sense of relief was congruent. I feel so light, even still...knowing that this is indeed becoming a reality. And i might not have to incure a debt of such size that I'll need a fiscally irresponsible 'stimulus' bail-out from Obama when i finish my degrees.

So i was wondering why, exactly, am i here, then? The interview with Northwestern, at that point, seemed pointless. Then it hit me--because this has been the culmination of the most intense reclamation project of my soul God has ever undertaken--and now, for the next eleven days, He wants me to share in my rejoicing, especially over this particular opportunity, with my two families. Who each lifted me up and drug me out of the pit of despair and despondent depression during 2007.

That, i began to realize, is what this whirlwind series of adventures is really about--sharing my joy with those who have borne me through pain, sorrow, shattered expectations, and channeled to me His priceless grace over the years.

What a thoughtful God we serve.