yeehaw! dowwwn little doggies!

So today I had my meeting with the bishop. I was nervous going in - but this appears to have been utterly unwarranted. After some initial conversation about my health, I broached the topic of long-term planning and a possible academic future, something I'd never mentioned to him before - and he was completely unfazed by it. He expressed his total support and told me to look into all sorts of different options, even bringing up possibilities such as "it may be that you need to go straight on to doctoral work". Now that I remain utterly unconvinced of, but the idea that with no hesitation he's given me permission to look at so many different options is awesome, and was totally unexpected. I expected to have to sell the idea much more. But no, he just wants me to keep in touch about my thoughts and learnings as I continue trying to discern God's will for my life. I have such a sense of freedom now to search and investigate and listen, without worrying about what my bishop will think of it all. Thanks be to God!