A Rough, Blessed Week

This week has been really hard.  I've been plagued with feelings of isolation, ineffectiveness, and heartbreak.*

And yet - 

• I've been the recipient of unsolicited encouragement emails from friends back home.
• Two of my Chinese friend have gone FAR out of their way to explain to me - at great length - exactly how I've impacted their lives.
• I threw out my pain into an anonymous FB-group I love. (DFTBA)  After a couple of hours I had some truly insightful and kind words of encouragement from strangers in Glasgow, Florida, Ohio, Norway, and Australia.

I feel incredibly blessed that God has responded to each struggle this week in such direct, specific ways. It's like finding a buoy in open water when I'm exhausted.  Isn't that wonderful?

A few kind, insightful words from a stranger on the internet that I turned into a sign for my wall.

*Finals are also looming, so grading, preparation, and skyrocketing stress are all working to tie my shoulders in knots.

What I'm Listening To

It's time to bring out the Christmas music, which for me, includes Sting's Christmas album.  Yes, Sting has a Christmas album, and yes, I love it!  This isn't really a Christmas song, but it's definitely winter music.  It has the right feeling for me right now.

"The Snow It Melts The Soonest"

Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing,

And the corn it ripens fastest when the frost is settling in,

And when a woman tells me my face she'll soon forget,

Before we'll part, I'll wage a croon, she's fain to follow't yet.

Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing,

And the swallow skims without a thought as long as it is spring;

But when spring goes, and winter blows, my lassie you'll be fain,

For all your pride, to follow me across the stormy main.

Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing,

And the bee that flew when summer shone, in winter cannot sting;

I've seen a woman's anger melt betwixt the night and morn,

Oh it's surely not a harder thing to tame a woman's scorn.

Oh, never say me farewell here, no farewell I'll receive,

And you shall set me to the stile and kiss and take your leave;

I'll stay until the curlew calls and the martlet takes his wing,

Oh, the snow it melts the soonest when the winds begin to sing.

Day 27: Threads

The month of November has been illuminating on a number of levels.  God has been spinning new threads of thought in constantly in my mind, each of different color, texture and weight.  Often, God teaches me by planting a stubborn question in my mind, or an idea, or by giving me a heightened awareness about a particular topic.*  I start to see or hear that topic everywhere, in music, in meetings, in scripture, in my friends' brain ramblings.  Usually the theme of focus is distinct and singular, one per season, maybe two if God's doing something crazy.  This month has been different.  God's been teaching and motivating me in several different areas that seem independent of each other, and try as I might I can't quite see how all the threads weave together.  It's like playing dot-to-dot without the numbers.

These are a few of the themes that have been growing in my lately:

• Specifically Designed for a Purpose (Original, right?)
• Doing "Single" Well
• Singles in the Church
• Brazil
• Hands-Off
• The Virgin Mary: Blessed and Limited

Many of these topics have intentionally misleading titles, as I intend to describe each one individually and in depth.  Oh, I can just feel the anticipation rising!  Some of these ideas are linked, but like I said earlier, others seem removed or disconnected.  Expect to see more ponderings on that in the upcoming weeks.

*I'm probably not alone in that. =)