Skip to main content

It's that airport time again.

It's a strange sensation to be starting my holiday time from my "normal" job. A slightly new sensation to have two weeks off and not have to think about what awaits and will be pending on my return. Strange to enter into the rhythm normal people in Norway live their lives by. I am not fully immersed, choosing two weeks as opposed to four, but it is a start.

And that is why I find myself at the airport. Sat in a very comfy sofa eating a raisin bun and drinking a latte that was made by pushing a button, I am packed and ready to pop for a long weekend to England. Might sound very flashy, but it's not really. It's simply a time to visit a few good friends.

As I sit here reflecting (airports are really good for that), I am thinking back to the past 6 weeks in what is now my permanent job. Six very good, but also challenging weeks.  A time of figuring out what it means to be allowed into the lives of those who are in vulnerable places of their journeys, and help them look ahead with hope. I love to see it as "being guests" in someone else's life, because it implies such huge amounts of respect and honour are required and expected. And these people deserve respect and need to be honoured and encouraged. And sometimes they need to be pointed to hope and value because they see none.

I am thankful that I get to spend my time making a difference in lives; no matter how small and slow progress is made. Because people are always worth fighting for and the world is changed one person at time.

I expect these weeks to be interspersed with reflections... Different from stressing and deeper then just going through the motions of every day life. And I  know that as I walk with others that  I too am impacted, and as I allow these new people, who are now part of my life, into my heart, that ultimately I am also changed for the better.

Popular posts from this blog

Packing...again.

I just folded the last load of laundry and I’m almost packed. Off to the airport at 5am tomorrow morning, heading off to Amsterdam. I’m excited, a bit nervous, and wondering what it’ll be like. It’s been a good week at home with lots of quality time with family, especially the little nieces and nephew. I’m glad I’ll see them in April again. Well, not much to write and packing to be done and a bit of sleep would probably be a good idea too. Next time I write it’ll be from Amsterdam....

Single-tasking September: The art of single-tasking.

To change habits and ways of life, the motivation for change has to be strong, and the benefits outweigh the effort it takes to make the change.  For so long it’s seemed like the ability to multitask has been regarded as a great skill, but is it really a good thing? Recovering from burn-out, one of the effects I noticed was that it was harder to concentrate, and especially tricky trying to focus on many things at once. I’d try to multitask, only to realise that all tasks suffered from lack of capacity to complete any one of them. The challenge is that the habit of always doing many things at once goes deep, and when I tried to focus on just one thing, I found that it was actually really difficult.  As I did a little google search on the matter, I found it seems like multitasking isn’t as healthy as once thought, and that it doesn’t help productivity. Some even referred to it as “switch tasking”, in the sense that the brain isn’t doing many things at once, but shifting rapidly...

Small moments that mean a lot

Walking home on the crunchy snow that lights up a December evening,  I felt so thankful. The revelation that fellowship and being together is the best gift you can give someone, and realising that although it might seem small, it can turn into something big when a person feels seen and valued.  Yesterday I helped out with a crafts workshop for a group of lovely women volunteering for Crux where I worked before (well, in all honesty: they were making angels while I ate Christmas cookies, Quality Street chocolate, and chatted). I love walking alongside people in conversation, and realise sharing life for 2 hours can last so much longer in value and experience.  This evening we had our Christmas dinner for volunteers and people who are part of my current job. It was a delightful evening with many nations gathered around the same table…. eating the same food… and for a few hours creating a small fellowship moment that will become a good memory for the future. Often in my job ...