Sometimes it still surprises me that I’m in
academia. I didn’t think I would ever be here, pursing a doctorate degree.
Honestly, until the door opened, it was never something I was interested in
doing. I didn’t care about getting an upper level degree. My story (especially
post high school until now) is a true testament of the steps of the righteous
being ordered. But this isn’t the space for my testimony. Instead, we’re going
to fast forward a bit and talk about the things I’ve learned in the process of
pursuing my PhD. I began my doctoral studies in the summer of 2014. In fact I
graduated with my Master’s on Saturday and I was in my first doctoral class on
Monday! In the process of pursuing my PhD here are a few of the things I have
learned.
1. Your degree, even if in
a non-Christian field is for the Lord. I always felt
called to do some form of ministry so when I found myself pursuing upper level
degrees, especially my PhD, I was unsure of how I was going to be able to use
that degree to glorify God and how it was going to move me closer to ministry.
What I soon learned is that the degree in and of itself was ministry! I quickly
learned that this degree is not just so I can be Dr. Myah Gary. This degree is
a part of the stepping stone to wherever God is planning to take me in
ministry. Thus, I have a responsibility to steward it appropriately.
2. You’re going to feel
like you don’t have enough time. And if you don’t put
the Lord first, you won’t. Working on a graduate degree often feels a lot like
working on a marathon, while sprinting.
You’re going to have class, a full time job or a graduate assistantship,
conferences, clubs and meetings. Oh yeah, and there’s this little thing you
will have to do called “studying.” You will have many things pulling at your
attention, but what I have found is that when I put the Lord before my school
work (having my prayer time, being faithful in church, serving in church and
taking some type of Sabbath) that God always redeems the time and I always get
things done when I need to.
3. You’re going to have to
fight to put God first. And speaking of putting God first,
you’re going to have to fight to put him first. The enemy (and people) will try
to tell you that your academic journey will be all consuming. Anything that is
all consuming outside of God is idolatry. Everything needs a place and God
needs to be placed first.
4. It is an incredible
opportunity to be light in a valley of dry bones.
Being in a predominately anti-God and anti-religion field, I often found myself
in a place where I was the only Christian. My beliefs have been tested on
numerous occasions. I’ve had professors and colleagues question my judgment and
my radical faith. Being in academia has caused me to put no confidence in the
flesh and has completely severed my approval addiction. When I first started
grad school, I wanted people to like me so
badly I was willing to be silent about my faith all together. Now that I am
half-way through my doctorate and I have had many experiences (and tons of
practice) taking a stand, I am very comfortable with taking a stand for my
faith.
5. Pursing a PhD is about
collecting resources as much as it is about collecting knowledge. You
will not have enough time to disseminate all of the information your teachers
will give you. You will have to learn how to skim. You will have to learn how
to pick out what the important readings are and store away the rest. The goal
of the PhD is that you become an “expert” in one thing (the topic you write
your dissertation on) and that you have a wealth of resources on how to obtain other
necessary knowledge.
6. If you struggle with
perfectionism, God is going to seriously break that down.
I’ve struggled with perfectionism since I was a little girl. I hated the
feeling of not being able to do everything perfectly. What God has taught me is
that his grace is truly sufficient. I have often found myself in a place where
I was unable to study as much as I wanted, or read as much as I needed and God
has ALWAYS covered me. I could not rely on my ego and on working hard. Instead
I’ve had to learn to rely on his grace covering the parts of my academic
journey where I was weak, tired or behind.
This is just a glimpse into my
academic journey and what the Lord has taught me in grad school. I hope it
blesses you.
XOXO,
Myah Lonye’
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