My Favorite Week of Work

Each year I follow my least favorite work week with my most favorite work week. I spent 4 days of the GASFAA Conference.  The what?  The annual conference of the Georgia Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators.  It's a group with friends and colleagues I've been getting to know for the last 10 years.  We gather to teach, learn, exchange ideas, find out what's new, and enjoy each other's company.  I come back with new ideas and wishes that I had more time to incorporate them into the daily madness I call work.

This year I'm holding an elected position, so I had a little more work to do. However, there was a perk.  My hotel room was upgraded to a suite.  Sweet!  So here I was in a suite that had a bathroom that was bigger than my bedroom at home.  The upgrade also included a concierge lounge down the hall where you could walk in and grab a drink or breakfast at no additional cost.  It was all rather surreal and ended as soon as I checked out and drove back to real life.

But someday in the future, Jesus will take us to a 'suite' life that is more spectacular than we could ever imagine.  It's a place so grand, He calls it a mansion.

John 14:2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

Sometimes on earth we are treated with some very special TLC, but it is nothing compared to what will one day be our reality.  

The 'Too Short' Long Week

It was a tough week at work.  My job was to run end of term processes. Each year I think it will be better, but each year I'm proven wrong.  I was in a terrible mood on Monday because I had to wait on others before I could get started.  Tuesday came with a better disposition, but frustration with lots of coding issues, meaning the processes wouldn't run. Wednesday I was able to really sink my teeth into the work, but with the realization that my time was dwindling.  Thursday was a day of frantic focus, working late and working at home.  Friday was the last ditch effort to get as much done as possible before the computers went down at 1 p.m.

The work week ended.  I didn't finish.  I was so frustrated!  It made me feel inadequate, even though I wasn't.  It made me feel like I didn't do enough, even though I could do no more.

Matthew 10:25a It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.

I had to pull away and look at the big picture.  I am not my job, though I'm there for a reason.  My true purpose is to learn to be more Christ-like.  How to proceed?

II Peter 3:18b ...but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I have this verse stenciled on the wall in the playroom.  It's there for my kids and as a reminder for me, when I've had a 'too short' long week.

A Mama's Wisdom

As I sit here thinking about what to write, my mom is teaching my 8 year old how to play Solitaire on the iPad.  You see, my mom likes to play games.  She has taught all of us how to play various games so that she has a partner anytime she wants to play.  Even now, I can call her only to find she's in the midst of a domino, skip-bo or canasta game with a friend or grandchild.

Fifteen minutes later, she's got a map out trying to help me find the best route from here to Nashville for a trip this summer.  Now she's teaching the last grandchild how to read a map (apparently she has done so with all of them). 

Proverbs 24:3-4 Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

A mom spends her whole life looking out for her kids, giving them advice, sharing her knowledge, and obviously mine is no exception.  Our rooms are filled and overflowing with precious and pleasant riches. Happy Mother's Day, Mama! Thanks for sharing your wisdom!

What could I do now?

On Thursday I attended a retirement reception for a handful of people at work.  Their plans for the future included travel, caring for parents or grandchildren, working part-time, and house remodeling. I started thinking: What will I do when I retire?  Is there anything that I'm planning to do when I retire that I could do now?

Friday I worked late and I was tired, but I attended the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, as I do almost every year.  It was a beautiful night and walking around in the fresh air gave me a lift.  Saturday was a gorgeous day, but I had little energy left to do anything constructive.  That's the kind of day that brings me down because I can fill page upon page of things I want to do.  Again the question returned.  What could I do now?  

Today my pastor's message was entitled 'A New Thing'.  He spoke about a new vision for our church, allowing for growth in the next decade.  That vision came with praying and planning.

Isaiah 19:43 Behold, I will do a new thing, now it shall spring forth; shall you not know it?  I will even make a road in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Remember last year when I worked on the sewing room?  That was a vision. It was a project that took on a life of its own.  It served as an alarm clock and caffeine to wake me up and keep me moving forward.  That's what I need again.  I want a vision that makes me want to work on it each day.  I want a new thing that will spring forth.  I'll be searching...