Taking Issue With Myself

I have to object to, or at least clarify, something from my last blog. My life didn't change the moment I got home from Japan in 1999, not instantly anyway. That moment was a moment of change, one country to another, and it signified change to come, all the implications of being in a different culture and starting a new job and making new friends, etc. etc. But my life didn't take a dramatic twist, it morphed in steps and stages, and the change in me came gradually as I moved with the flow.

So maybe you're reading this and you're thinking "duh! Why bother taking issue with such an obvious point?" Well, because I think for lots of people it's not so obvious, and I want anyone reading this to understand. The most profound, significant, life changing things are not usually the fast, dramatic things, at least they haven't been for me. Not that fast/dramatic and profound/significant are mutually exclusive. They can fit together. But life is made up of a sequence of choices that shape our futures, and often we don't understand the significance of the choices until we have the power of hindsight.

For example, before I left Japan I decided I was not going to choose a house group based on how many people my age were in it. I'd done that before, and had a less than satisfying fellowship experience. This time, I was going to look for God, go where he led. And I did. And he hooked me up with the best fellowship group I've ever been a part of, in that it was a bunch of people with enough similarities that we "got" each other, enough differences that I learned a lot of good stuff from each of them, and everyone was focussed on God, not anything else. Amusingly, they all happened to be people about my age. Then I entered a training program called the School of Justice where people from our church tried to open our eyes to the realities of those living in poverty. They managed that while God radically changed my way of thinking and looking at the world.

These two choices, the ones that led me to the house group and the school, have had major effects on who I am right now. When I look back, I am amazed at how far people who entered my life and experiences I've had in these two contexts have taken me from who I was. And I'm glad, because I'm better now. It has been a trial-by-fire experience at times, but I'm better now than I was, and have hope that God will continue to work on my bad parts.

So I'm looking forward to fall 2006, because I think it will be good. I probably won't understand how good until I have hindsight working with me. But I'm willing to wait for the insight as I enjoy the moment.

And before that, I'm partying in Japan. [In fact I'll even be arriving there during hanami season, a major party event across the country]

Yes, Bev, I got the job!!

I just found out half an hour ago that the job I applied for in Japan is now mine!!! WOOHOO, YEEHAA, and all the other celebratory noise we make in the English language. I'm going to Japan, I'm going to Japan, I'm going to Japan. [read with all the excitement you can muster]


And to add to the excitement, the contract starts at the same time I changed jobs last year, May 1, and ends on the exact same day as my JET programme contracts, July 21.

This is significant to me because God has been speaking to me of some kind of a change that's coming through, and though my life is constantly changing one way or the other, I think there's something of great importance coming through, though I don't know exactly what. I don't know the timing, and I'm not expecting anything dramatic, but I am expecting something significant, and these contract dates are interesting. Last year I spent seven months wanting to quit, and a week AGONIZING over the date, and decided not to quit until the spur of the moment, which turned out to be very God, if unorthodox. And I knew I was entering into a season of change then.

Seven years ago I came back to Canada after 3 years in Japan, arriving on July 21. My life really changed in that moment, and I have changed over the years as God brought different people and situations into my life. This has been a very significant season in my life, and as of July 21, 2006 it will be exactly 7 years long. I'm told 7 is a Biblical symbol for completion.

This term in Japan is just a vacation as far as I'm concerned, a sort of working holiday. I'm really looking forward to having ALOT of fun. And God likely has more to add to that, which I'll gladly take. But now I'm really curious as to what fall 2006 is going to be like.

Winter Came

So from the warmest January on record, we jumped to the coldest February. Actually, I don't know if this will be a record breaking month, but we jumped from abnormally warm temps to some of the coldest temps and wind chills you can get. What a place!! It's just as well. I probably would have missed winter if it hadn't come at all.

So Lanney commented on my last entry that it sounds like I've got a lot going on. I guess she's right. It's just no one of those things takes a lot of time, so I feel like I'm not doing much. I still have way too much time to spend in front of the TV.

Which reminds me, I have an episode of Lost to catch up on. See y'all later.

Whazzup?

Whoa, February is slipping away on me. It's already the 13th. Well, I haven't much news to share. My sister was here to visit with me, and she brought along a couple of Japanese friends. I found out I remember more Japanese than I thought. That's still not much. My application to work in Japan is coming along. I just have one more reference to submit. I've got two more weeks of house sitting and then I'm back home. Not doing much reading lately. Started a night course related to my work and am rather enjoying it. Found that it has re-energized my desire to do some theology studies. I'd really like to be a student again for a time. That's about it. What's up with you?