'Aren't you on a terminal.. uh, I mean a fourth year internship?"

I chuckled in my head when this question was asked of me a few weeks ago.

I had heard the term before. Terminal Internship. It is a phrase used for those of us who are doing internship last and not going back to seminary for a year prior to ordination.

It makes sense. This internship is terminal in the sense that it is the end of my time in seminary. I suppose the joke in it is that it is the end of life as I know it as well. Ok, who am I kidding, the joke is that it is the end of having any sort of life outside of the parish for which you work.

I get it. I do. Yet I have to confess that the reason I chuckled this time, was because I have always pictured something different when I hear this phrase.

I picture, not a hospital room or a sickness, or funeral, but rather an airport terminal. I see the business of travelers rushing to catch their flights to whatever destination they are going to.

For me that is exactly what this 'terminal' internship is. It is not a death, but a passing through. I am going through internship on my way to the next stop on my journey.

I love journeys, particularly the journey of life. (Hence the name of the blog!) Passing through an airport terminal is one of the highlights of any journey for me. The people, the excitement, the anticipation. Whether you are going or coming there is so much to look at, see, experience and anticipate.

The longer I have thought about it, the more I like this application for the word terminal in general. A terminal anything is what we are passing through on the way to our next destination.

Life then is terminal. It is a terminal. It is what we are passing through on our way to a more complete relationship with God.

Thank you to all of you who join me on this journey. I love you all and I am so glad that you are part of this terminal life.