A new link--The Center for Progressive Christianity. See if you like it.

Technical difficulties

Sorry to all of you who had to plow through 10 of my "I lost my last post" posts.

I actually didn't lose it, it's right below the "I lost my last post" post.

Those responsible have been sacked.

I lost my last post!

It was really kind of nice--a metaphor about how I'm learning that I don't really need to work so hard at my life and how even though it doesn't look like I'm making good progress on my career goals, etc., at the moment (still under-employed) that I can trust God to keep my boat floating.

Well, it disappeared somehow. Sorry.

That's okay, though, because it was probably a little self-serving anyway. My having occasional flashes of trust in God doesn't necessarily help you to feel any better about your particular situation. Really, it could just be me trying to make myself feel better about my latest useless interview. So, maybe here's something less Pollyanna:

I've mostly been getting temporary work that I don't like. I'm good at this kind of work because I'm a quick learner, not because it's natural to me. But I am getting to meet a whole different swath of people and experiences that I probably would've never seen otherwise. Did you know that there are entire companies that install office furniture? Or laundry machines? Or ductwork for your central air? I'd never thought about them until I worked with them. The work world is very wide, I have to say.

So, when I sit at my desk waiting for the stupid phone to ring so I can transfer the call (BORING), I'm at least meeting some more people God loves. And if they swear at work (which I'd also never really heard until about two weeks ago) they're at least friendly and kind, God love 'em. It's a whole different environment, and one I never saw myself working in before. A change from Massachusetts, to be sure.

So I don't have work I like, and it's not very clear to me what God wants me to be doing right now, and I'm feeling like I'm drifting and powerless. But you play the hand your dealt, so at the moment I'm just trying to enjoy the scenery.

Grace boat

With apologies for taking so long to post again...

So I'm still less-than-employed. You can read my post from a couple months ago. I have had some luck with temping, you'll be happy to know, but it hasn't been long-lasting luck, unfortunately.

Being without consistent paid work is difficult, but lately I've been going in and out of a subtle feeling of well-being. God created me, God loves me, I'm not going to starve to death. Not that God doesn't love people who do die of starvation. That's not my point.

I'll try again. Growing up in a suburb, I always felt this push to do well at school, to make sure I got the A, to make the right life decisions, have goals and meet them, don't waste your life. It was a lot of effort to keep the boat from sinking.

This last year my boat has been drifting. But guess what? It still floats.

Turns out that I don't have to be bailing out the water all the time like a crazy person. I can relax a little and see where the current takes me. Maybe my feet will get wet, but I'm a long way from drowning.

Of course sometimes I'm panicky and irritated because it seems like everybody in the town I live in is looking for someone with a personality exactly the opposite of mine. Or different experience. Or whatever.

But these are just waves. And then there is the realization again--God's grace can be trusted.

Blessings on you and your boat.