A Terrifying moment

Today I turned in one of two papers I will write for Dr. Blomberg this semester. The paper itself wasn't so bad (other than the fact that yesterday I arrived at the library on campus when it opened at 7:30 a.m. and left it when it closed at 10:30 p.m.), but the fact that I had to give a 5-minute presentation to the class on the major themes from my paper was. It was quite honestly one of the most terrifying experiences of my life. There were 24 people in the room.  A few were auditing the class. Many were M.Div. students who are used to presenting things in front of people. Many were other MA New Testament students who are all light years ahead of me in the intelligence department and more intimidating than you might think. And the 24th person? Dr. Blomberg. One of the smartest people I've ever been around, and he certainly knew more about my topic than I did (because somehow decades of research and study of the NT prepares you a bit more fully than a week or two putting together a 14-page paper).

As my turn drew closer I felt increasingly nervous. My stomach started to hurt. I felt physically sick. I'd been dreading this moment since I first got the syllabus for the class almost two months ago and read about having to do it.

Then I got up, spoke for a few minutes about the topic on which I'd written, answered a couple of questions, and sat down. Afterwards one of the really smart guys in class told me I'd done a good job, and he sounded like he meant it.

No big deal.

(except I have to do it again in about a month)