They trickled into the room and eventually we gathered as a group.  For most of the semester we started at 9am, but the clock ticked across several more minutes before our start.  By then, the tables were filled and dressed with treats.  Two pans of some casserole of sausage and bread and eggs or broccoli and onions for us meatless eaters, a bowl of sugary goodness a pastor’s wife provided, a box of buttered sweet cakes.

Their eyes and heads were heavy with every unfinished paper and all those unwritten words scrambling in their heads like thoughts waiting.  Their anxiety was normal as was their exhaustion.

We talked about things.  We wrote affirmation cards and ate and talked about the unseen days ahead.  Their would be jobs over the summer, breaks from seminary, no one taking classes.  One of them was starting a business, one serving at a camp.  There were hugs and written prayers, and as in previous times, I was so thankful for the chance I have to do this work.