praise. lament. thanksgiving.

as i'm thrown headlong towards the end of the year.
i'm looking back and seeing how my 'season' for this term, was about
community and giving.

living in a community house opens your eyes.

from the way tony shares his friends, his regent life with us
to the way andre never seems to mind downloading and letting us watch movies on his laptop (when you know.. he could be playing the specialist instead of having to entertain us with movies and family guy episodes that he's already seen)
to the way hannah shares with me her thoughts, listens to me rant, hears me whine and basically cares for me.

learning from the way
people just give you the time of the day,
dave and sue listening to me babble.

the way people act just to let you rest.
curtis knowing that i'm tired and letting me sleep in his car, or in the nav office

or even the favourite activities that people let you in on
dustin and his crossword puzzle solving frenzies

and people truly interested in knowing what's going on in your life
elim and rebecca wanting to know every week what they can pray for about me.

i have truly been blessed
and at the same time challenged.

the hardest thing for me to give sometimes,
is just my time.
i am horribly economist-like in my thinking. and i'm always seeking to maximize my time; a day is like a check-list of activities to be completed.
but sometimes the best thing to give someone is your time.

i have to learn to be less self-absorbed
and just seek to share in people's lives.

i have to want to know and hear their story.
life is not about just telling and living your own.

teach me to listen, hear others' stories and WALK with them