Yo what’s up. Welcome to my series of blog posts for this Fellows year. Growing up, my mama would always make up provide a monthly update on 4 different areas of our lives: social, physical/health, academics/occupation, and spiritual. So I will be continuing this same format in these posts! This is very much a ‘trial-run’ post, so don’t expect greatness right off the bat haha!
Social
Throughout the past month, I would say I have been emotionally balanced. I would say I am a social introvert, but because I am naturally introverted, my alone time is definitely a space for me to recharge and process my thoughts. Fellows has been moving at lightning pace, and its crazy to think that it has been a month already. There are always a million things going on it seems, but I have found times throughout the weeks for silence, solitude, and rest.
I am grateful that the other Fellows are friendly and inclusive. And I just love the way the program is designed; its as if I am forced to make these deep, very real, life long friends! I don’t know [coming out of college, and going straight to adulthood] what my current friendships and new friendships would look like without the intentional and disciplined structure that is buried within Fellows.
Physical / Health
My health and hygiene is a lot better than it was in college, and though I am waking up before 6 every morning, I still get plenty hours of sleep. I try to have all electronics off by 11pm every night just so I am not losing sleep or getting into stuff I shouldn’t be.
Pertaining to activities, I am playing drums every other week at church, and I am playing soccer in a local adult league every Saturday. On worships days, I am at the church from 7am - 1pm, so those can sometimes feel like a work day. But I love playing and sing music, and its one of the many ways to worship our Lord and Savior! Soccer is probably my greatest passion on this planet, and I am glad to still be playing and watching week in and week out. I also like the comradery of team sports; teammates aren’t always the best, but experiencing ups and downs with a team closely parallels the relationships within the church, as we continually strive to bring heaven to earth.
Occupational
For those who don’t know, I am currently working as a mechanical engineer for ImagineOptix, a small engineering company in the Research Triangle Park. I studied biomedical engineering, so I am not using too much of what I learned in college, but I am learning quite a bit (experience and connections are always great too!).
Work can feel mundane sometimes. I’ve spent the last two weeks basically doing the same thing, or working on the same project. The work I am doing is great, but I sometimes question my calling when thinking long-term. I probably won’t work this job for the rest of my life, but for this particular season of life, the Lord has called me to work for this company. It would be amazing if I was given a dream that had the entire layout of my life (where I should be, what I’ll be doing), but our Creator has blessed with creativity and expression to pursue our passions for the rest of our lives. If you have read this far, I would ask that you pray for persistence and diligence in the workplace for this next month.
Spiritual
Fellows keeps me pretty involved in scripture and prayer , which is amazing! There are times every single day for either scripture or prayer, which is a good habit to get into as we become adults. One thought in particular has stuck out to me throughout this past month. In Mary Young’s class on Spiritual Formation, one of the Fellows said they have to use mental energy, or think about not thinking of anything during times of silence and solitude, which seems counterintuitive haha. I resonate with that a lot; it’s easy to sit there in silence and ‘rest’ physically, but I am not resting in His presence if my mind is still moving at 176mph. It seems I am wired to be forward-thinking, always on-to-the-next, going going going, so another prayer request is that I learn how to truly rest during solitude.
Personally, I have been reading the book of Job and 'Garden City' by John Mark Comer. If you haven't read Garden City, it is a must! It is about work, calling, and rest, which I briefly discussed earlier in this blog. One of the chapters in Garden City ('Everything is Spiritual) has really helped me get through these past two work weeks. Comer just highlights the importance of work and how all different types of work are designed to glorify God. As an engineer, I am problem solving, while studying and analyzing the depths of His creation. For a painter, someone could be expressing their God-given talent while displaying to the world His creativity through his creation (His people). For someone working with kids, they are serving the parent of the children by donating their time and energy, which is selfless and sacrificial (very Christ-like). Nonetheless, work is what we are called to do, and its what God did for the first 6 'days' of the existence of this world. I am almost done with the book of Job (I think 7 or 8 chapters left), and of the many things I have picked up from the book, it just reminds me of the question 'Why does God seemingly allow suffering to take place?' From Job's perspective, he was apparently righteous, but he was living under the assumption that 'righteous behavior' = a happy, fun, and safe life (which is cap). Job's friends / acquaintances tell him that there is no need to blame God or complain to Him about the suffering that Job is enduring. I find myself somewhere in the middle of this conversation between the two parties. I probably won't fully understand why 'good' and 'bad' people deal with struggles for the entirety of their lives, and I don't think God likes seeing people struggle either. But that seems to be the sacrifice made for His love for us. I think it would help if I finish Job and stop putting it off haha.
Alright, time to get off the trolley. Until next time!
BB
** Some Fellows Pro Tips from the month of September
- When Ashley says she wants to go for walk, you won't be moving at some ordinary walking speed; be sure to pull up in your play clothes.
- Write down your testimony before sharing, and don't start it the night before. Speaking on behalf of a friend, a ha ha.
- Make the effort to call at least one member of your family at least once a week; both parties will appreciate it very much!
- When you are awake / up and running by 7am you feel like you are on top of the world, I promise you!
- Write the blog post on a separate doc. Squarespace is mad buggy, and there is a 99% chance what you type might not save.