"Every town has it ups and downs, sometimes ups outnumber the downs, but not in Nottingham." Thank you Robin Hood for being stuck in my head this morning for some reason. Maybe just because I've been thinking about how life can be simultaneously full of ups and downs. It makes for a bit of a roller coast ride sometimes. Never boring though!
Take this week as an example. A coworker I really respect and admire transfered to our Midland office. I'd been working with him since I started full time, and I really enjoyed working alongside him. He was gracious and pretty patient (which was good for me to be around since patience as a virture has still not really stuck in my head yet hah) and always kind to people. He also would telll me about his son who is my age and about his aging mother in law who moved in with them a year ago when she was sick and her husband had just died. He'd tell me about working to pay off their house and about how he and his wife really loved their church, about how they'd taken really good care of him when he lost a kidney. I've met his wife too, and she is really wonderful, working all the time with senior citizens at their church and taking care of her mom and loving their son. So I feel like I didn't just lose a coworker, I lost an example of how to be in a Christian in the midst of day to day life. Not always glamorous, but I was thankful just to be able to watch him "do life," as cliche as that may sound. Mostly a down.
We had Ange and Bob's wedding shower at our house last night with a bunch of friends from TU and from church. Lots of delicious food and Ace pear cider and laughter and marriage advice and two matching craftsman toolboxes for Bob. Definite up.
My dog is licking my face and my computer as I write this. It's 65 degrees and sunny in January and we're sitting outside on the ground on the front porch enjoying it. Definite up number 2.
Natural gas prices are plummeting. We are running cases where we get no value for the gas stream (ha yes I know that is like a code language for nerds). The office is getting a little doom and gloom. Downer.
I've been trying to figure out how you balance the pursuit of excellence with also resting and knowing when to say no. Christians are supposed to pursue excellence, to strive to reflect God's perfect creativity in all we do, and yet we are limited and fallen. And even God rested after all he made. Confusing? For sure. Okay that's not really an up or a down, just something I've been thinking about. Feel free to comment ;).
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I totally relate to this, especially the last paragraph. Personally, I feel like my two conflicting pressures are not so much work vs rest, but motherhood vs career, although these are similar themes. Obviously I don't agree with the conservative ideology that dictates women must stay at home with children, but I still acknowledge that loving one's neighbors starts with loving the ones closest to you: hubby, kids, family. And in my brain, love = time.
ReplyDeleteBut since I decided to live this career-mom life, I have to accept the tension that comes with it. And to sum it up, it's freaking hard. Should I go to that conference? Should I do that research project? Should I be spending more time at home? Should I work part-time when I graduate? How many kids can I reasonably have? Should I do a fellowship after residency? Should I work when I'm pregnant? Should I aim for a competitive specialty with higher work hours, or "settle" for something less intense?
SO MANY QUESTIONS. LOL.