A few minutes ago I submitted the final draft of my dissertation to the division of Graduate Studies at UT Arlington. Apart from any formatting problems I’m asked to fix, I am officially done with the dissertation. I reproduce below what I regard as the most interesting (and perhaps important!) part of the dissertation, the acknowledgments. In particular, this is the part of the acknowledgments where I thank my family.

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Thanks to my parents for life, for education, for faith. You sacrificed to pay for my excellent Christian schooling. You taught me to discern between things that matter less and things that matter more. You taught me to think critically without being doomed to a life of skepticism. You supported me throughout my BA and MA work. And you encouraged and helped me through these last six years of PhD work. To my sisters and their families, thank you for your love and words of encouragement, as well as the gift cards for Amazon and Papa Johns.

To my daughter Rebecca Grace (our cancer survivor!): you are a sweet and beautiful little girl. During the last three years, while I’ve tried to master a few small corners of Jarai grammar, you have acquired a remarkable mastery of English (in addition to memorizing long passages from the Gospel of Luke, lots of catechism questions and answers, just about every song you’ve heard, and all the things Mommy and Daddy think they said too quietly for you to hear). Thanks for keeping Mommy company and playing with Isaiah every day while I’m away “writing my dissertation.” And to Isaiah Emil, I’m so glad you’ll have no memories of Daddy’s dissertation era. Someday, you’ll wonder what that big black book is that we use as a doorstop: you’ll pick it up, perhaps, and read this paragraph. If you think language is cool, keep reading. If not, please put the book back down so the door doesn’t slam shut.

To my wife: thank you so much. When we moved to Texas, it was you who got a full-time job while I went to school. You’re the one who now stays home with our kids while I write and work. You’re the one who keeps us all fed and makes our home a wonderful place to be. You’re my hero. I am inspired by the persistence you showed in writing and defending your own dissertation in the midst of so many life changes: our marriage, a move to Texas, your work as a public school teacher, and the premature birth of Becca at 27 weeks—any one of these might have been justification for giving up. But you kept working, even through the emotional and physical drain of a miscarriage. Thank you for your faithful love and companionship. Being your husband is a high honor and great joy. I love you.

And finally, to the one from whom all blessings flow, I offer these borrowed words of thanks:

Thee, God, I come from, to thee go,
All day long I like fountain flow
From thy hand out, swayed about
Mote-like in thy mighty glow.

What I know of thee I bless,
As acknowledging thy stress
On my being and as seeing
Something of thy holiness.

— Gerard Manley Hopkins