Oh, Eh?

Well, I hope you had a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend!

I did. I spent mine in Toronto. It was a Girl Trip! ...That pretty much says it all. It involved museums, walking around downtown, fun restaurants, gelatto, shopping, lots of laughter, new nicknames, running jokes, a chick flick, a tiiiiny bit of alcohol (now, don't be all scandalized!), and a cute waiter.

Our first stop was the Bata Shoe Museum. It was actually very cool and we all found it fascinating. It was there, from a display on Chinese fashion, that we got our nicknames. It was from the Chinese Calendar (okay, zodiac) and what animal and element we are. (I'm an Earth Sheep, if you're interested. Mine was eerily close to my personality. Go figure.)

But as I said, we also visited a couple other museums, such as the Spadina House, and Casa Loma. They were also a lot of fun. We spent hours looking around at everything, and heard some great stories.

We also walked around quite a bit of downtown TO, just trying to find places to eat dinner. There are, of course, tons of restaurants, but the four of us (as relatively easy-going as we all are) still had to agree. Sunday Night we spent the better part of an hour trying to find just the right place (for my Birthday Dinner). We ended up at an Irish pub which somehow suited us all perfectly. It was also the source of the cute waiter--who incidentally, was also too young for any of us.

Well, anyway, I had a lot of fun. It was just a great weekend. I hope yours was, too! Here's to mini-breaks!

Sick Day

I started this post, but apparently I was too sick even to finish it. I decided to publish it [aug. 08] instead of leaving it a draft. Just as a testament to the unfinished things we often begin with good intentions but get derailed from completing.


So.
This week I had to take a sick day.
It seems like a long time since I've had to do that. I mean, I was sick. Like, lie-around-and-watch -TV sick. Eat-nothing-but-saltine-crackers sick. Fever-over-one-hundred sick.
It came out of nowhere.
And you know what I did? I tried to fight it. Deny it. Pretend I was fine.
*shakes head* I know. Silly.
I don't know why I get like that. Like the world won't keep spinning if I stay on my couch watching Dharma and Greg reruns for a couple of days.

Not About ME

"God works in mysterious ways."

We've all heard that expression. Many of us have used it, too. It's sort of a catch-all phrase for the funny, quirky ways things work out in life. Sometimes it's meant to be an encouragement when things don't go as planned.

Like so many sayings, it's so common today that the meaning is often tuned out. But it is, in fact, true. Romans 11:33 says,
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!"

That goes for the big things in life, as well as the small.

This past week, I went to go see a movie with a friend. I see lots of movies. Movie watching is basically a hobby of mine, because I love stories. This story was about a Bengali Indian family living in America, and it was good. (It was called "The Namesake," if you're curious.)

Anyway, in the course of the movie, a couple of tragic things happen to the family (as with all families). The son, Gogol, the titular "namesake" of the story, says something both times, to two different people. He says, "It's not about you." The first time it is to a girlfriend, who doesn't understand his change in attitude in his grief.

Somehow, that little phrase stuck with me.

It made me think (as I believe all good stories do). How often do I make myself the center of my problems? Whatever I'm going through, there are other people being affected. But I usually look at it from my perspective alone, what my needs and desires are.

The fact of the matter is, it's not always about me.

In a way, that's a relief. I tend to internalize so much, take things so personally, over-analyze things to death. I know that I do this. But hearing a phrase like that reminds me that I don't have the whole story if I'm only looking at a situation from my perspective. When I shift the emphasis, I am freed of that burden.

With friends, for example: it can be so easy to take things personally if someone doesn't call, or seem to notice if I'm upset, or listen to me. And certainly I believe all relationships need to be about give and take. But I should be free to give, without expecting so much of others. Remembering that it's not about me does just that. It frees me to care about my friends and family without needing something in return.

So am I saying God spoke to me through a movie? And a secular one, at that?? Oh, yes. The line "It's not about you," came at a very timely moment for me, and was then backed up as I read my assigned scripture for my Bible Study.

Oh, yes. God does indeed work in mysterious ways.