So, my modem died on Sunday. It just gave up all its lights and is now sitting lifeless and unproductive on the table, hoping I will consider giving it a second life as a paper weight or modern sculpture. Don't think so! I was supposed to receive a replacement in 2 business days, whatever that means, since it is now 5 days later and I am still doing without. Really, I don't mind being without access to the world wide web for a few days while I wait for my new modem, but much of my communication, writing, and studying is done online, and so I have already missed a webinar and fallen woefully behind in my writing schedule. On the work side of things, I have to disseminate certain information to our church community every week and on Tuesday, it took three attempts in three different Internet access locations before I finally managed to send this important communique. Rather inconvenient, to say the least.We are in Ontario for the weekend visiting friends and now have access to their wireless network. Life should be good, but this morning when I turned on my computer, it refused to recognise its very own hard drive and Dean had to run it through a diagnostic (which is a very scary blue screen) before it would even start up. Quite concerning, yes.
Those are my computer woes, which are interesting enough, but there's more. On Wednesday we hosted a Canada Day party which included some frisbee tossing and soccer in the park near our condo. I had strained a leg muscle on Sunday while shooting a rifle (not sure how one manages to do that, but I found a way). My leg was still a bit sore, so I attempted to play soccer half-speed on Wednesday. I was successful until the ball came my way and I had to do something quickly. So I ran and turned and kicked and suddenly it felt like someone had sliced into my quadriceps with a knife. It turns out that I pulled a big muscle and though it is getting better every day, I walk like an 80-year-old who forgot his cane at home. Uncomfortable and bothersome, for sure, and a source of much amusement for my friends.
While this week has thrown quite a few challenges my way, it has also laid the table for a feast of good fruit in my life - an opportunity to chew on valuable virtues that I really had not taken the time to digest properly.
1. Receive. While I sat on the couch with my leg up and a frozen bag of peas on my strained muscle, my group of Canada Day guests prepared a delicious meal for each other, tidied the kitchen, and managed the party all very nicely without my help. Who would have thought that I didn't need to do it all myself and could actually embrace and receive help when offered? I am not nearly so good at this as I thought. How much goodness do I unintentionally deflect when it comes my way? More than I care to acknowledge.
2. Gratefulness. Being thankful attacks discouragement at the root and undermines deceptive and destructive negative thoughts before they begin. But it takes practise. Practise. Practise. So I have had lots of opportunity to do that this week.
3. Relax. Not everything needs to be done according to my specifications within the time frame I think is preferable and have the outcome I envisioned. In fact, not a whole lot of life will fit into those silly criteria. Instead, let me: Hope. Trust. Love. Life within these 3 dimensions is what I am really shooting for, so I want to learn to resist the temptation to force life towards a certain predetermined goal and instead, lean into the strong wind of Love and let it move me.
4. Tasks are not more important than people.
5. Rest is just as important as work.
6. Ask God before spending a lot of time developing my own plan. It saves time and energy and produces better results in me and in my situations.
7. Be patient with mobility-challenged people and slowness of any kind. People have enough challenges to face without some impatient person on their tail.
8. Walking is one of the most incredible gifts God ever gave.
This is the Niagara Falls, the American side, where I hobbled this afternoon with good friends.
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