Mondays, because they are listed as days off, are always somewhat of a struggle. Because it's your day off, do you catch up on all of the work that you should be doing? Catch up on emails? Catch up on Japanese study? Use your time to connect with all the people you haven't gotten a chance to connect with? Do you lock yourself in your room? Clean your house?
Besides the simple question of what to do on Mondays, there are much bigger questions we've started discussing...such as, "What things are just good, and what things are actually God's will?" "What is simply busy-ness, and what is necessary?" "What are good relationship builders, and what's healthy alone time?" Anyway, if you want a better description of the mental job struggle (in poetic language even!), you should read Cindy's blog.
So often, we plan events or activities to be intentional, push people in some way towards something, connect groups together, etc. We almost always have a goal or vision for doing things, and that's good...but with Christmas coming on and a lot of extra stuff on the schedule, it seems like we're looking at our planners suddenly thinking, "When did we stop being about people and become an intentionality-driven event business?" Ok, that's definitely harsher sounding than I meant it to be! We need both the intentionality and the other side, and I know that...
Anyway, the whole reason that I'm writing all of this down is because it was a wonderful, non-business day, but in a lot of ways it felt like big ministry stuff got done. I talked to my family in the morning (chatted, rather, since my microphone broke...blah!), got out for a quick run and shower, and then ran to meet another student for a volunteer after-school program where I met many of our English school students, and met and chatted for awhile with one of my student's mothers! It was SO fun to just hang out with the kids, and talk to our students and their friends, and then getting to meet my student's mother was simply the topping on the cake...I'd NEVER met her before, and her son is one of my favorite students! And I learned that she volunteers every week at that school! Did intentional conversations happen, where I can point to things and say, "This was great!"? No. But the feeling overall is that connection was made...and it's kinda the feeling of, "Yay!" I wasn't looking for so many connections at all...but God just kept sending people along...
After the volunteer program, I came home, and Betsy and Mayo ended up stopping by and eating dinner. Then Mayo and I studied Japanese/English together for awhile...again, not intense connections, but just relaxed, normal opportunities to partake in every day life together.
Ok...really, I'm not dissing intentionality at all...but I love random relationship connections, and today was just a good reminder that I can plan programs all I want, to help myself feel busy and useful...but God mostly calls me to love the people around me...
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2 comments:
Hysterical, hysterical. You had a really good day because it was unintentional relational stuff...finally. And I had a wonderful day because it was super-productive, focused, "non-relational" time that ended up being 400% more people-connection time than as of late. Sigh...a reminder that although community is very good, we are definitely still both 2 separate people who need to go to our own corners frequently. The good news is that I might not take your head off this week if you're nice to me. :)
hehe, I always have that Monday dilema exactly!! It's awesome yours worked out so wonderfully! Mondays are a blessing no matter what I end up doing. Talk to ya soon!
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