One Life

The 900 pound gorilla that was my PhD is finally free from my shoulders! It’s not that the degree itself was impossibly hard, but much more so it was trying to complete my dissertation at the same time as establishing our ministry in Japan and Christ Bible Seminary that was so challenging. At times I felt like I was walking around with a gun to my head (my dissertation) – that I desperately wanted to knock away from my head – but couldn’t. I’d go weeks and sometimes months without hardly having time to touch my dissertation. When I finally got the time and emotional energy to tackle it, I would sit down at my desk with piles of books and articles and have to struggle to even remember what it was that I was even researching! Then more weeks would go by fighting through the spiritual warfare of the Japanese mission field. I’d find myself brushing my teeth looking at the mirror – and seeing that gun to my head! There were times when I started to doubt whether I could finish my dissertation while being on the mission field – and those were good times of desperation – times when I could and had to lean upon my precious Lord Jesus.

“Surviving your dissertation” books can teach you the mechanics of managing your time and research, but they can’t minister to the depths of your soul through times of weakness, doubt, and frustration. God is good!

People used to ask me what my dissertation was about. Each question was a reminder of that gun to my head! I got to the point where I decided that only those who really pray for me and my dissertation get to ask me questions about the dissertation.

By the way my dissertation (focused on anthropological linguistics) was a Bakhtinian dialogical analysis of oral histories of Korean Christians who grew up during the Japanese occupation of Korea.

This picture is after graduation in full regalia. The PhD hooding ceremony was beautiful. Even more beautiful are my two daughters as you can see! I’m thankful especially to my wife Pearl – without whom I could never have finished. She also made it such a celebratory weekend. I think a month or two ago I had little expectation for what graduation would have been like. I think I would have been satisfied to not participate. But Pearl made it a beautiful weekend of great thanks to God. Thank you Pearl!

This picture was taken just yards away from the University of Pennsylvania’s ice rink where Pearl and I spoke our first words to each other Freshman year after we met while skating with some Intervarsity friends!