This week has been a  little trying … in some ways.  I’ve been fighting a cold, I lost my voice totally and had to stay home from work for three days.  All that time did was remind me how much I now absolutely hate going to my job.  I know hate is a strong word but that’s what this job has become; I feel trapped there — almost like a caged animal wanting the rip bars down and bust out.  It doesn’t help that I have another unpleasant meeting this week that cannot be avoided; all I want to do is get the heck out of dodge where this job is concerned.  I’m over it but I don’t want to become stay impatient.  I make my worse decisions when I’m impatient and this one is too big to mess up.   I know what I need to do; I need to calm down, pray without ceasing and trust God to help me find a work environment where I could thrive instead of die.  It’s hard to wait … but it can be done.  I need to discipline my “fight and flight” urges so I can walk into the best that there is for me.  

I tell people all the time, I might not be the best Christian there is or will ever be but I can definitely say that me and God … we got a thing!  😀  He gets me and He speaks to me in languages I know — i.e. movie lines, random quotes and song lyrics.  I know it sounds crazy but I’m sticking to that story because I KNOW it’s true!  😀  To that end, these are my blessings this week:

• Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies. ~ Shawshank Redemption

   

That is true for fictional character Andy Dufrense and it’s true for me too!  I have to “keep hope alive” and walk in the calling (whatever it might be) that God has for my life.  I will NOT for a moment, believe that there’s not something better for me.    Specifically a job!

• You wait and you wait for somethin’ big to happen… and then you find out you gon’ die. ~ Last Holiday

This is true for many people and I don’t want it to be true for me.  Like Andy said in Shawshank Redemption, a person has two choices, he/she can either get busy living or get busy dying.  Errrr … not a hard choice in my opinion.

• I’m a survivor
  I’m not goin’ give up
  I’m not goin’ stop
  I’m goin’ work harder

  I’m a survivor
  I’m goin’na make it
  I will survive
  Keep on survivin’

  I’m a survivor 
  I’m not goin’ give up
  I’m not goin’ stop
  I’m goin’ work harder

  I’m a survivor
  I’m goin’ make it
  I will survive 
  Keep on survivin’  ~ Chorus from Survivor  — Destiny’s Child
  

Now I’m not a DC fan (except for working out; I’m ole skool in my music taste 😛 ), but during my cancer treatment a few years ago, God brought these words to my mind.  The chorus of that song (Survivor) was my anthem during my pre-surgical period, while I was in the hospital and the three long recovery years.  Every time I got tired, this chorus came to mind … every time!  It’s not surprise to me that this week,  He brought it back to mind.  I told y’all He speaks to me in song lyrics. 😀

• This week, He even sent me gifts!   I’m forever talking about how much my impression of community has changed with all the online connections I’ve made and He used one of you to remind me that although my family’s so very far away, I do have community!!!!   I’m met Robin through Ravelry.  I love her quiet presence, her patterns (knit and cross-stitch) and her blog.  I became a regular visitor to her blog and she became one on mine.   Still it was a surprise when she contacted me, expressing the desire to send me some cross-stitch floss I wanted to try.  How is it that this would be the week, when I really needed a pick-me-up, that her package arrives?  A handwritten note, with an illustration (drawn by her) and one of my favourite verses (Psalms 66:1), a small hoop, one of her patterns, some pieces of linen and floss.  A wonderful reminder that sincere kindness has no limit.  In these cases, saying thank you never seems to be enough, but I’m going to say it anyway — “thank you so very much Robin.”

I hope each of you had a great week and as we enter the new week, I wish for each of us: hope that sustains us,  purposeful living all the days of our lives,  knowing that we’re worth the fight for a life that truly represents us, a life filled with kindness — giving and in receipt of!

Happy Sunday!!!