A few weeks ago my wonderful little brother and sister in law took me punting in Cambridge for my birthday present. It was lovely being taken down the river by Steve and enjoyed seeing Cambridge from a different perspective. On the way back to the pick up point Steve decided to pass the "big stick" to me and I had a go. It was scary not only for me but I imagine for them as well. The pole was long and heavy and standing on a small platform at the back trying to keep your balance was way more difficult than I thought. The experts make it look so easy. I managed to move the boat eventually between two bridges and whilst it was reasonably quiet on that part of the river before handing it back to little brother to take us home.
So what did this mean for me? It was lovely to spend some time with family and enjoy the beauty of the day and surroundings in company that understands me and accepts me for who I am. But life can throw you challenges when you don't expect them and when you do it can be harder than you expect. Just like I thought it would be difficult to punt I had to keep moving forward using the pole whilst trying to maintain my balance and look out for other boats.
Life as a Christian can also be like this. Being amongst Christians is like being in a family and you are accepted for who you are. You don't have to put on an act or impress others. But then something happens that can cause you problems. Some unkind words, job loss, loss of a loved one, making choices that will affect the course of your life and its tough to keep going. But God gives us the bible and the holy spirit (the big long stick) to help us keep living and moving forward in our journey with him, along with family and friends to help us get through to the next stage by helping us, being our eyes and ears to help us work out what to do.
Keep relying on God to live your life as he would want you live. Not putting on an act and always having the right tools to keep us going.
This week I have had a big birthday. Its been a thought provoking week one way or the other. Firstly a colleague at work sadly lost her battle with a very short lived illness. Where as I knew them I didn't really know them but it obviously had an affect on the people around me. It made me stop and think about where I was and what impact I am having and what would people say of me if I was no longer here.
Taking compliments and gifts and people saying nice things to me doesn't come easily. Because I had my birthday this week I had a lot of lovely gifts and cards, none more than from my lovely year 9 girls. They continue to amaze me with what they come up with and to top it all what they will do for me. Today they organised a BBQ for me and them at one of their houses. They bought me gifts and cards, made me a cake and generally were very willing to tell me that they loved me and really appreciated me and what I do. This also includes the parents who continue to express their thanks for what I do. But what do I do?
I turn up each week to ID, I have them round for lunch and let them sit in my bath (fully clothed), I get them food each week for the group, I sit and listen, I offer them a shoulder to cry on, a hug when they are down, a laugh when its all going well or playing them on the Wii, drive my car to pick them up and drop them off, give up my holiday to do Newday, cry with them, organise evenings, offer a word of encouragement or wisdom and ultimately pray for them. They frustrate me, they bring me joy, they cause me concern and worry and I love them. They are my spiritual children. But I am not their parent. The joy is I look after them for a few hours a week but then send them home to their earthy parents. I don't get the moods, the door slamming or the general being a teenage girl hormones (apart from at Newday) But our heavenly father loves them and loves me. Not for what I have done or am doing but because he loves me for who I am and just that. I don't deserve it but he loves me anyway.
Taking compliments is not in my nature. I often think I don't deserve them and get embarrassed as I don't do anything special, just live my life in the way I think God wants me to serve. But in a way I need to accept the compliments gracefully and humbly. I give thanks to God for what he has done for me and he accepts it. I need to accept that God has sent these people to be part of my life and take their thanks. I need to continue doing what I do and live my life according to what God tells me to do, a small hug can go along way.
So, what would people say about me..........................
Yesterday evening was fun. The girls in Year 9 got to dress up in wedding dressess loaned by some lovely ladies from the church. I did as well!!!!! They had such fun and really enjoyed themselves. It was lovely to watch their faces as they got to explore the number of dresses available and with some encouragement for a few try them on. Some jumped right in others took a little bit of time to warm to the experience but by the end of the evening they had all dressed up, had their photo taken and walked up and down the make shift aisle. They all said they felt special and were glad they had come. The opportunity really did make an impression. We were speaking about the gift of marriage and the importance of living by the word of God. Consider the choices we make and the impact this may have on our lives not only now but later on. Are we going to remain pure in body and soul for our future husbands. Not sure how we can top this......
Youth work is rewarding, challenging, emotional, exhausting, fantastic, and probably every other word you can think of if you are in the same line of work. Now I don't do it for money, purely voluntary which does have its benefits because i can say no to things and not feel too guilty. Saying that I do love doing it and why else would I give my free time every week, my home to have them round and my food for them to eat.
I love them as a group of young people. We had a phrase a few years ago that when working with 11 to 14's when you throw mud some of its sticks, so we keep throwing the gospel at them hoping some of it will stick eventually. I have come to learn that it is more likely all to happen at Newday when they make a response to a complete stranger and then ask us why we hadn't told them how great God was. We sit there thinking what have we been doing for the past year!!!!!!
Well this morning I was talking about the Resurrection. However I have come to learn that personal accounts and stories always tend to keep there attention. They didn't appear to be interested in the evidence for the Resurrection but when it came to my personal testimony they actually stayed really quiet and for a minute or so after i had finished. either I sent them to sleep or they really were listening. So a bit of mud slinging it was this morning.
I had also forgotten how emotional teenage girls can be and how fickle. I don't remember being that bad but if you ask my parents I am sure I was. The latest crush appears to be Justin Beiber, who they keep telling me is christian and they are all saving themselves for him, I suspect that there are thousands of young girls across the world who are doing the same thing and declaring their undying love for him. Oh to be a teenager again, or may be not.
Youth work, its got to be love
I've decided that travelling off peak is a lot easier. Managed to get to St Neots on Thursday night in 2 3/4 hours and then proceeded to speak for the next hour without stopping. Living alone has its advantages but then again when you come home from a days work there is no one to off load to, so my brother and sister in law got the full flow about what I had been up to on my days off and day at work last week.
I had a very enjoyable day in Cambridge on Friday despite the sub zero temperatures waiting for the coach to pick me up. I enjoyed an early lunch at a lovely tea shop overlooking the colleges of Cambridge and managed to locate a number of items I had been unable to locate in Eastbourne. (Yeah!!!!!). There are very good links from St Neots to Cambridge with a coach that travels every 30 mins or so and leaves just down the road from my brothers house.
Yesterday I went to St Ives (Not cornwall) and walked around the town, finding a unique shop selling clothes from the earth. Anyway they are closing down so it was a BOGOFF day. I was fortunate to find a pair of trousers for 1/2 price and then another pair for free and they all fitted me (Yeah again).
Today we saw the Kings Speech having had a failed attempt last night because we forgot to book. Good film and very informative. Worth a watch and probably to get when it comes out on DVD. Can see why it has some oscar nominations.
Travelled back this pm leaving about 4.30. Hit the M25 about 5.30 (not literally) and then queued at the Darford Crossing for about 10 minutes due to the sheer volume of cars etc. Anyway managed to get back home in about 2hours 45 again and found the flat lovely and warm. Its great to be back in my own bed tonight. Back to normal life tomorrow.
I've been following a number of blogs over the past year, mainly due to the fact that friends have moved across the world and are travelling the world. By doing this I found that others I know also have started to blog and I find peoples musings and thoughts really interesting to read. I'm not planning for this to be mind blowing or inspirational in any way but I thought I might also give this a go. What do I say? Am I really that interesting that peole might read. I don't know. This is a completly new world to me.
Well I'm currently on leave this week and enjoying all that the world has thrown at me so far. I was at the local university yesterday trying to look all knowledgable to the OT students and have an element of professionalism about myself. Well I love the actually time at the university and hopefully they will still keep asking me back but you never know. The students are also good and I got asked a few interesting questions. I wonder if I gave the real world of OT in the acute setting!!!!
Today I decided to pamper myself. Before christmas I received a £10 voucher for the spa attached the gym I go to so redeemed that today with a nice back massage and facial. First facial ever..... Now I know that sounds wierd for someone of my advancing years but I actually quite enjoyed it. Have ended up with a loyalty card for them as well with the enticement of the more I spend the more points I get which work towards a free treatment. Well I might consider it. They say I should go back. Tomorrow its off to get the barnet cut. About time as its got long and thick again. I always think when I am leave and dont' go away how I actually fit work in.
Just a thouht from the weekend..... Am I a cat, baboon, human or hippo. I know I want to be a hippo but feel I am more like a human when it comes to the holy spirit. Still mulling that one over. Enjoy.....
