My first class in seminary was Pastoral Care and Counseling. The professor, on the first day of class, apparently took great sadistic pleasure in passing out the 50 page syllabus to each student, dropping them on our desks with a deadly "thud." Bug-eyed and shell-shocked, we started to thumb through the tomes with visions of a carefree first quarter vanishing before our eyes. But, as he passed these out, these words were uttered - "This class is good preparation for ministry. You can't do everything, so choose what you do very carefully."

I took that to heart and I didn't do everything in that class and managed an A. In fact, that advice proved great for not only that class, but grad school and my career in general. I try to remember this when I'm faced with multiple deadlines and asked to be in three places at once.

I often miss those grad school days because of the syllabus. The wonderful thing about a syllabus is that it lays out all of the expectations in black and white, tells you what you are going to be tested on and when, and when the trials will be over. In life you get tested all the time, but you never know when and using what criteria or by whom and you have no idea when it's ever going to end.

40 for 40, #39