Seth Hedman

The Art of Flourishing in Seasons of Nothing Special Embracing Purgatory Every college student knows the times I'm talking about.  That week right after New Years but before school starts back up.  That week toward the end of July bored to death working minimum wage at your summer job.  That Spring Break without any special plans so you spend it at home staying up late, sleeping in until noon, and staying in your sweats for days on end.  Basically it's that boring time, in between exciting things, where nothing is really going on and you fill your days trying to fight off crippling boredom.  Where staring at the wall seems like a reasonable way to spend half an hour.  I call it Purgatory. In the schedule of college we will all encounter many of these times and seasons of nothing special.   Look familiar? Sometimes college itself can seem like Purgatory.  Its this weird in between time right after leaving the house but before you start "...

Reflecting on a 16 Year Football Career: Freshman Year (Part III) Off to a Rough Start Year One: RedShirted After I knew that Drake was where God wanted me to be, I didn't know much else.  I knew that I would redshirt, meaning I wouldn't play for my first year, and I would have to start over again at the bottom of the totem pole.  That meant be humble and patient, but hungry.  I knew that I was the fourth linebacker in my class, and the other three were the guys they signed instead of me.  That meant I had a chip on my shoulder.  I knew that God had brought me here to play football at a high level, so I had a lot of confidence. But things started slow.  And crappy. My first ever  padded collegiate practice, in my first  ever  drill, I messed up my shoulder.  I got hit at a weird angle and it immediately started hurting.  But I toughed it out and kept going.  Well then it got hit a few more times.  Then I stepped in...

Starting three years ago, I began coming up with one word that would be my "theme" for that year.  Depending on where I was personally or what I was doing, I picked this word as something that could remind and motivate me to live out the word.  This is a big deal.  I often spend several week thinking, praying, and brewing over this vision for the next year.  The past three years were: Warrior, Hungry, and Obsessed.  Pretty good, right? In previous years I had often had trouble coming up with a word that would set a vision for my year and motivate me.  This year, it seemed I had too many words. This is year is a year of transition and change for me.  I have just graduated from college and concluded my 16 year football career.  I am beginning my career as a campus missionary with InterVarsity.  And although I don't even know where I will be this summer, and I very well may stay in Des Moines, I know my next step is to begin transitioning aw...