The 5th Year Student

It's Thursday today, and YMC is scattered across the region, catching their breath from an intense week of serving and learning, breaking and shaping, dying and living, laughing and crying. Most are studying the Word for their reports and writing them, memorizing their Scriptures, or catching up on some SEU reading.
I've been incredibly blessed and privileged to be a part of VCC's Master's Commission since it re-launched back in the fall of '05. I have never experienced anything quite like it, as it has transformed my life over the past 4 years. I have come from being an insecure, rebellious, unbroken, and confused student; to a confident, submitted, broken, and stable-minded student.
But notice that the same about point A and point B is that I'm a student. I've grown so much over the past 4 years, and while I am in pastoral leadership with YMC under Pastor Sergio, I am still a student, wanting all that God has for me and never quite embracing a sense of arrival.
In my first year, the theme established by then-Director Pastor Juan was "Capturing the Heart of God", so I made that my personal theme. In my second year I came up with one that I felt God laid upon my heart for me, and it was "There's Another Me". It was inspired by a song with that title and I became convinced that there truly was another better me waiting at the end of my 2nd year. Truly there was, for in the time period of a year my parents divorced, my Grandpa died, and my father died. At that point, grownth was no longer optional -- it was mandatory, and suddenly responsibility was dropped onto me that a 21 year old kid could never handle well without God's grace.
So recalling the years I established themes for my life, God gave me one for this year: "The 5th Year Student". One normally graduates after two years, but I'm going into my 5th. I know that I'm a pastor, I know I've taken the classes, I know I've graduated the program. But I haven't graduated from learning. I'm going to be that student sitting under the impartation of Pastor Thomas with my pad, pen, and Bible ready; I'm going to be that student serving the needs entrenched in unpleasant circumstances; I'm going to be that student who will graduate his 5th year through the program -- not because I've been held back, but because I am moving forward.
So it's Thursday and YMC is scattered everywhere once again, and today I join them in study to become everything that God has for me to be; for there is yet another me waiting at the end of this year.