Friday, July 25, 2008
Friday, July 18, 2008
alive
"Do you know what today is??" LG bellows from his office.
I roll back in my chair until I'm in his line of sight.
"Its July 18 - but other than that, no."
"Two years ago today I got run over by a Semi," he announces. "I just realized that when I wrote the date down. "
LG had a long, hard row of recovery to hoe. Just last fall he had to have another reparitive surgery on his leg, and there was a significant chance that it would have to be amputated. He works hard and plays hard, and his 6'5'' former basketball player's frame wasn't really given the time it needed to recover.
Now he is walking without his cane and (more significantly) without a limp.
"What are you doing tonight?" I holler back. "You definitely need to celebrate being alive."
Being alive is wonderful and probably the biggest thing I take for granted. Oftentimes we hardly stop to think about how close we all are to not being alive.
Being alive is pain, it is exhilaration, it is suffering, it is knowing love, joy, laughter, despair, and all of the myriad emotions in between those.
Tonight I think I'll celebrate being alive, too.
I roll back in my chair until I'm in his line of sight.
"Its July 18 - but other than that, no."
"Two years ago today I got run over by a Semi," he announces. "I just realized that when I wrote the date down. "
LG had a long, hard row of recovery to hoe. Just last fall he had to have another reparitive surgery on his leg, and there was a significant chance that it would have to be amputated. He works hard and plays hard, and his 6'5'' former basketball player's frame wasn't really given the time it needed to recover.
Now he is walking without his cane and (more significantly) without a limp.
"What are you doing tonight?" I holler back. "You definitely need to celebrate being alive."
Being alive is wonderful and probably the biggest thing I take for granted. Oftentimes we hardly stop to think about how close we all are to not being alive.
Being alive is pain, it is exhilaration, it is suffering, it is knowing love, joy, laughter, despair, and all of the myriad emotions in between those.
Tonight I think I'll celebrate being alive, too.
Friday, July 11, 2008
Paradoxical isn't it.
normally waiting for things to transpire causes a lot of angst and agony for me. By nature I am impatient. I already know that, don't have to keep realizing that about myself, and I never pray for patience because I don't want to have the trials of having to learn patience. In spite of this, God is teaching me to have patience anyway. I have spent the last three years since I graduated from college sort of floating around without any real direction. The direction I thought I was going in didn't pan out, for various and complicated reasons. I never really had a plan B so this left me mildly distraught when I actually sat down and thought about it.
Lately though, doors have been flung open for me. Clear indications of how to proceed. I am starting my Master's Degree this fall in Community Development at Eastern University. I didn't realize this, but my mom just told me that Eastern is the number 1 school in the country for Community Development! A fact she learned from a friend whose child was doing college research.
Currently my job is exceedingly boring and not challenging and at several points in the last year I tried looking for and applying for new jobs. However, things have shifted some because my work offers a tuition reimbursement program, and is generously contributing toward my Master's Degree. This is so amazing. I prayed that I would at least get a scholarship to fund my education and not have to shoulder the entire burden myself. Not only did I get a scholarship, but the tuition reimbursement came through, and they cover text books too, and the time off that I needed for my classes in September was approved as working time off, and I get to stay with my roommates friend in Philly and drive her old car instead of rent one! I mean talk about open door!
However, I don't necessarily have a real clear picture of how I'd like to apply this degree. Even though I'd love to have a nicely laid out 20 year plan, I am Trusting God for that.
I am letting go of the need to control and have it all laid out. It is not easy for me but the more that I am able to do that, the more excitement I feel about what lies ahead contrast to the worry and stress of needing to have a plan of action.
Paradoxical isn't it.
Lately though, doors have been flung open for me. Clear indications of how to proceed. I am starting my Master's Degree this fall in Community Development at Eastern University. I didn't realize this, but my mom just told me that Eastern is the number 1 school in the country for Community Development! A fact she learned from a friend whose child was doing college research.
Currently my job is exceedingly boring and not challenging and at several points in the last year I tried looking for and applying for new jobs. However, things have shifted some because my work offers a tuition reimbursement program, and is generously contributing toward my Master's Degree. This is so amazing. I prayed that I would at least get a scholarship to fund my education and not have to shoulder the entire burden myself. Not only did I get a scholarship, but the tuition reimbursement came through, and they cover text books too, and the time off that I needed for my classes in September was approved as working time off, and I get to stay with my roommates friend in Philly and drive her old car instead of rent one! I mean talk about open door!
However, I don't necessarily have a real clear picture of how I'd like to apply this degree. Even though I'd love to have a nicely laid out 20 year plan, I am Trusting God for that.
I am letting go of the need to control and have it all laid out. It is not easy for me but the more that I am able to do that, the more excitement I feel about what lies ahead contrast to the worry and stress of needing to have a plan of action.
Paradoxical isn't it.
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