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| Gotta love the PRT! |
Monday through Friday, we wake up at 0430 and need to be dressed and out the door for morning exercise (PT). We do a heavy cardio circuit or run from 0530 until 0630, and have almost exactly 45min to shower, get dressed in our camis (which is a process), eat breakfast, and get to the schoolhouse for the day. Classes run from 0730 until 1630/1700 everyday and take place in a single room. Every class revolves around the multifaceted history and duties of US Naval Chaplaincy. We arrive back to our housing each night, cook our own dinners and then begin completing the assigned homework, which is always a weekly research paper, group presentation project, or reading assignment. The day typically ends at 2200 for most.
On Saturday and Sunday, there is no formal class instruction or direction. However, given that every minute of our weekday is booked, the weekend becomes a means of completing previously neglected chores such as: sleep, cleaning, laundry, grocery shopping, haircuts (need one every week), boot shining, correspondence with loved ones, and more sleep. Before you know it, the weekend is done its time to do it all over again.
Please understand that I am not complaining (I really like it), nor am I suggesting that the schedule is too demanding or difficult. What I am trying to stress is that every moment belongs to the Navy and there is very, very little time for doing what I want or even need to do....like eat or sleep! But beyond these physical needs, I have found times where I felt unable to practice my spiritual devotional life and failed to do so.
When these days occurred, I brushed them off as 'only one day' or tried to justify my failure by reminding myself that I am at Chaplaincy school, surrounded by other Christians, and learning about ministry according to my personal faith tradition. Surely our talks and emphasis are producing enough of a spiritual residue that my personal spiritual life will benefit...WRONG.
By the end of the second week, I knew I was spiritually parched and in need to refreshing. I had been running on my own strength and using business and context to justify my weak condition. Being busy is just an excuse; it's not a reason.
The days will never slow down - it's the military and they are going to try to own every minute, but I can choose how I will spend the precious few I'm given. This schedule has proven that I can go periods without food or sleep, but it's also proven that I cannot go a single day without prayer and Bible study. A day without food or sleep is a bad day, but a day without Jesus is death.
