chasing the sun

the continuing search for the unattainable

9:47 AM

interim

Posted by jenn |

“It often happens that I wake at night and begin to think about a serious problem and decide I must tell the Pope about it. Then I wake up completely and remember that I am the Pope.”
-Pope John XXIII


My interim pastor (and I call him that because I have yet to place membership at his church, not because he’s temporary in any way) has been preaching about the Missing Pieces of the Heart and last Sunday he spoke about peace – this is not shalom style peace you practice, but the inner peace you feel. I love his sermons – the way his mind works and the way he fully develops things instead of watering them down.

Anyway, I’ve been hashing this peace element out with my roommates and in my own thoughts. My spirit is in a constant state of disruption. I don’t know that I’ve felt true peace in a while and I think my brain and heart have stopped communicating for some reason. I never thought that could really happen, but it has. My roommate was asking how you open up your heart so that it can be preached to. I told her it was by being vulnerable with others and with God and with yourself, but I don’t even know if that works.

How do you get the truth you hear, see, smell, taste, touch, and even sometimes speak from your own lips to permeate the walls around your heart??

For me, I sense there is this wall that keeps everything that even hints at the possibility of someday being in the least bit heart-wrenching out. I’ve become very good at keeping things out, but have no idea what got me to that place, why, or how to reverse the effects. And then sometimes I cry for reasons I can’t understand. Things bother me deeply and I don’t know why. For someone like me who seeks consistently to be self-aware and balanced, this is very distressing.

My thoughts have been so shallow lately. I am not being challenged or changed in the core of myself. But I am also not seeking out challenges. I’m sitting on the bank of the river, afraid to get back in the water because I nearly drown last time. No one really engages my soul anymore – or else I don’t let them.

What happened between then and now?

When was then?

5:03 PM

confined

Posted by jenn |

Well, I started my new job this week. Maybe I’m just tired or my brain is fried or I’m suffering from a lack of windows, but I just feel icky today. And I’m going to list my reasons for feeling such ickiness in no particular order:

1. I have a serious shortage of professional-looking work clothes that actually still fit me, which is both frustrating (because I’ve gained weight) and slightly embarrassing (because I feel very conspicuous in my Old Navy pants and sweater today).

2. There are a billion programs to learn at this damned office. They track everything in at least 3 different difficult and slow-ass computer systems. Seriously, haven’t they heard of DSL?

3. The woman who is supposed to be training me appears to have little or no interest in training me. She points and grunts at my computer and gets frustrated that mine is not set up exactly like hers. She’s worked here for 20 years and I’ve been here 4 days. She’s perfectly nice, but moody and she listens to some soap opera on her computer every afternoon – ugh!

4. I think I’m getting my roommate’s cold. My head is spinning and I feel a bit dizzy.

5. Mostly, though, I think I resent not already knowing how to do everything. Like I should just automatically know, right? I know it’s ridiculous to get mad at yourself because you don’t know things you aren’t even supposed to know, but I am great at doing ridiculous things.

What to do, what to do…My first thought, as you may or may not know, is always to run screaming out the door. But I don’t think that is the answer – nor do I think my roommates, my mother, my recruiter, the gals in HR or the company would appreciate that. So, I need to stay and fight through the foggy days of not knowing what the hell I’m doing – I know that. I need to get in a routine and on a workout schedule so I can wear the clothes I have and not yawn all day long. Maybe I should start taking speed. I hear that works.

Pray for me, won’t you???

Subscribe