"Let Us Run..."

"Let us run with endurance the race God has set before us." - Hebrews 12:1b

"Patient endurance is what you need now, so that you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised." - Hebrews 10:36

Over the past few weeks I have discovered something new about myself, I am task-oriented. I enjoy knowing what to do, how to do it, and usually I appreciate having someone to walk me through the process. However, I also enjoy having days when there is nothing on the agenda and I can just relax, read a book, spend time with friends or watch a movie. Typically at the end of a relaxing day, I'm ready to do something.

Making lunch on Friday

This is not necessarily a weakness. This is not really a strength either. This desire or even need to have something to do or work towards is almost like having a travel bug. You just want to get up and go!

I'm learning patience and endurance. Whether it is during the crazy days when there is too much to do and not enough time, so you end up eating lunch standing in the kitchen trying to have a moment of silence. Whether it is during the quiet days when washing kitchen towels, cleaning rags, and bedding is your sole task. Patience is something of a life lesson from what I hear and experience. Endurance...well that seems to require patience so they go hand in hand, don't you agree?

Sometimes I lose sight of the value in the simplest of day to day tasks. Laundry, making a coffee, cleaning a room, baking a birthday cake, helping cook a meal. These tasks are so often taken for granted that I can forget how essential they can be.

When I joined staff in October 2015 it was with a desire to serve the base location and the people in that area. Service is a beautiful act that can be a form of worship to God and also a way in which to honour others. Lately, I've caught myself viewing the ministry I do on base as just a daily routine instead of as an act of worship. That's not how I want to live. It is not why I came here. I came because I was called to make a difference through serving, to reach out to the people here, and to help build up the sense of community.
This is my purpose. This is my act of worship. This is how I will endure any obstacles thrown at me. God is my anchor, my refuge, my Lord, my Saviour, and my Heavenly Father. He is worthy of my worship, in the craziness and the quiet. Even more so when I least feel like it.
So I will run to Him, for He cares for me.

A New Year

   This Christmas and New Year's season was... different. I celebrated Christmas day with 500 people from all around the world, though it started off in my house having breakfast and opening stockings with my house-mates. Then on New Year's eve it was a normal work day before gathering a bunch of friends for a small party at my house where we played games, had a dance party, and swapped stories before going off to watch the fireworks.
   For New Year's day I opted for a day off. I spent the majority of the day reading, puttering around an empty house, and enjoying the quiet. As the evening approached and I contemplated some of the events that had taken place in 2015, I wanted company. I sat on a swing set and came upon the realization that I missed my family. I missed how we celebrated the holidays together and all of our little traditions, such as watching the Muppet's Christmas Carol and eating cheese fondue. I missed them for the way we interact together and how each one of us are so different. I missed them because they were my family.
   We may be spread between four nations, but we manage. I love them all! Thank you Jesus for blessing me with such a great family. :)