Oh hello. January really flew by, and we are really 8.33% done with 2022 already. Kinda wild. It’s time for another monthly check-in on how I am doing in these 4 areas of life: social, physical/health, occupation, and spiritual.
Social
The fellows spent the beginning of the new year at Docksology (Lake Gaston) for our Career, Calling, and Vocation Retreat. As some of you already know, the retreat came to an abrupt ending, with many of us getting or being exposed to COVID. There is no better place to do quarantine than a secluded lake house. That was a wonderful time spent with other fellows, but health and emotion tends to take a toll during any type of quarantine. Since coming back to Raleigh, I would say I have been emotionally balanced. I have experienced some joys and some sorrows, some laughs and some hardships. I am working with a lot more people at my new job than my previous, which can be overwhelming at times to my introverted self. But I really like the work that I am doing (more on that below).
Physical / Health
My health and hygiene was atrocious during quarantine haha, but getting back into a regular rhythm helped with that. I am getting sufficient sleep I suppose, as playing soccer and lifting makes me a little more sleepy by the end of the day. I have developed somewhat of a proper night routine; I started charging my phone outside of my room at night. Doing that keeps me from wasting hours before I go to sleep (and first thing when I wake up). I didn’t have the opportunity to play any music at a Sunday church service due to being out of town, or the random weekend ‘snows’ that took place this past month.
Occupational
After our little quarantine episode, I started working at Refugee Hope Partners (RHP) alongside Kris Levesque. I typically spend the mornings doing administrative work, personal projects, or helping out in a daycare center while some parents are taking English classes. Afternoons are spent tutoring math and English to elementary and middle school kids. This is drastically different from the engineering work I was doing beforehand, and I am engaging with a lot more people throughout the day. While it can be tiring at times, I really like teaching, and I am slowly beginning to see the fruits of the labor at RHP. Outside of the occupational aspect, I want to continue to build on my relationships with the kids, staff, and interns. This job likely won’t be something I keep doing after Fellows, but I am grateful to be working here in the meantime!
Spiritual
I read the book of Hebrews in the latter half of January. Our Old Testament professor Aaron Gann told us to check out Hebrews after finishing up the OT. Personally, I think it is a good book to read for those who are either: maybe hung up on seeing OT tradition as an ultimate thing, or having a hard time seeing the parallels of Jesus in the OT, and these obviously aren’t the only two reasons. But from what I got, Jesus is the better, upgraded, 2.0 version of every person and every thing in this world. He is above the angels (Ch. 1), He is the purest and greatest human to ever live (Ch. 2), He is the better Moses/Abraham/Isaac/Jacob/etc. So when we begin to wrongfully put our trust in the things of this world (money, people’s approval or love, land, strength and influence, and so on), we need to be reminded of what is true. The riches He has for us in Heaven far surpass any type of wealth we could accumulate here on Earth. The love He gives us is much greater than anything we could experience from the people in our lives. We have a ruler who can empathize with our weakness, and provides us with enough strength to overcome temptation time and time and time again. I look forward to implementing this idea that Jesus is the greater _____ in many areas of my life.
Alright, time to get off this trolley. Until next time!
BB
** Some Fellows Pro Tips from the month of January
- Always pack extra underwear, socks, and whole outfits in case you find yourself in quarantine
- I only recommend a Polar Plunge if a hot tub is readily available. Don’t be like Harry Potter in 7 part 1.
- Give yourself at least 2 hours for Genogram interviews, and don’t expect them to go as planned.
- Cook white rice in small portions. Or get the microwavable packs. Or just don’t cook rice ever again.