Great quote

Here's a quote I just read by someone who I'd never heard of before April and now seems to pop up everywhere!

Wendell Berry: "The significance (and ultimately the quality) of the work we do is determined by our understanding of the story in which we are taking part."

Canada

So I'm sitting at a computer in Kingston, Canada. Yesterday was officially the longest day of my life - left Melbourne at 11am (home at 8am) and got into Ottawa at midnight - after being in transit for 27 hours. But it was a good day. Late out of Melbourne and then substantially late out of Sydney, which meant that I missed my connection in LA. So I got put on a later flight to Chicago but still had to go straight to it after going through immigration and customs in order to make it. Then I was on the later flight to Ottawa from Chicago which meant that I got in at midnight rather than 10pm. All good really and I wasn't at all stressed about the delay - except a little about contacting the person who was picking me up. It was all good and quite a fun day really, although long.

I'm not sure that I can put words to what it was but I did a feel a little culture shock at American airports. I guess some words would be much rougher than Australia, service much more abrupt and just a generally different feel. Having said that though people were helpful and lovely.

I read on the plane a fair bit - mostly Hugh Mackay's new book "Advance Australia Where". Interesting to be reading about Australia as you are flying to two new countries.

Arrived in Ottawa at midnight and then the person who picked me up drove me around Ottawa for a while which was great. Then bed ... sleep ... in a bed!

This morning I got up and then was dropped at the bus to Kingston - 2 and a half hours. Arrived and went to Tim Horton's for lunch (had to have cultural introduction!) then back to the house I'm staying at, then down the street in Kingston to get a few things for the wedding I'm here for.

But sleep is calling very soon ... will write more.

It is NOT rocketscience!!!!

Just having one of those moments where life is clear - and it's not about me (although it's a place I thrive), it is about the kingdom ... and so much that often bugs me and matters just doesn't - it's a good place for which I'm thankful! Shalom, peace, grace are all real right now.

Friends

Have been talking with a good friend about the different definitions we all have of "friends" and how different friendships are profoundly different and take different forms. Good conversations. But I was amused at one of her comments:
"If I relied on you to text our friendship would be over, if I have a need for a text I text x (her other close friend)"! So so true!
Given my posts a little while ago about texting I thought some readers would get a chuckle :)

Appreciating what is NOW

For a whole range of reasons I've been thinking lots about how I expect that if someone is there for one thing, I expect/want them to be there for the whole journey with something. So if someone is around for the joy of getting a new pet, for example, I expect/want them to be around for the journey with that pet - the learning to train it, the dilemmas about how to get it looked after when I'm away and eventually it's death. There are so many examples of this in my life - and I reckon one key area of my life where I haven't left people free and have placed unhelpful expectations on people. Worse still it has often meant that I haven't been open to the amazing gifts that God is wanting to offer me today - the resources, people and other things that God is offering me today that are quite different to those of yesterday, even within the same journey/issues/experiences. It's also meant that I expect that of myself with how I walk alongside other people - if I was there for something in particular then I feel the need to walk the whole journey alongside someone about that thing - so I don't leave myself free to be how/who/where God's calling me to be today. Again I'm conscious that's not the best way of loving the person or being a co-creator with God in the world. Mmmm ... powerful stuff.