On February 1st, I went to work for the first time. And I’ve been doing that for 15 days now. I have an apartment in Gainesville, in the center of town. I run in the old downtown square after work. I don’t use google maps to get around any more. My roommate isn’t here yet, she will be traveling from Iowa this weekend to move in officially. I’m learning more names at work, slowly but surely. My administration muscles are being flexed and my knowledge of video editing is growing quite quickly.
So those are logistical updates about my day to day life.
Before I started to write this blog, I was racking my brain for something interesting to say. I don’t feel interesting right now, because let’s face it: last year I was traveling the world with strangers having (mis)adventures all the time. Now, I work 9-5 in an American suburb and I’m still adjusting to this lifestyle. (Please know, I am very very thankful for my job and life – but it is different.)
Allow me to cycle back to a lesson I learned last year many times as I did very mundane things.
Thank God the Christian life is not a consistent high.
I’ve lived along side many people who long to stand at the top of a mountain (both figuratively and literally) at all times. But that’s not how life is. It doesn’t make God less real, smaller or boring. I’m going to quote a campus minister I really respect at the University of South Carolina, Tommy Rhodes.
“Quiet persistance… That’s what makes us uncomfortable. Noticeable. Immediate. Those are the words that drive us more than we’d like to admit. But Jesus seems determined to make us like himself. Driven far more by the the small acts of healing grace that go unnoticed by the crowds. The quiet withdrawal to places where he could talk to the Father who loved him. The settled commitment of being with God’s people no matter how messy. He’s at both more mundane and more mystical than we want him to be.
I hope to be quietly persistent.
My prayer before work sounds something like this – Lord, I want to hear You and do what You say. Let me be a sponge to whatever I can learn. Please, remind me to take risk, ask dumb questions, be humble enough to be wrong and enjoy this.
PS – Fundraising update! I am VERY thankful for the support I’ve gained so far – I’m at 40% !! There’s still a long way to go. If you can financially support me, please click the little red words that say support me on the left of the screen. Thank you!!
