An Unbroken Chain.

Do you ever look back on your life and think, how did I get here???

I'm sure you have. I think it's natural to reflect on the things that have led you to where you are today, and the things that have shaped you to be who you are.

I've always been interested in the Holocaust era of history. During my junior year, Holocaust survivor and Minnesotan Henry Oertelt came to my high school and shared some of his incredible life experiences. I remember being so enthralled with his story that I bummed $10 from someone (which I probably never paid back, now that I think about it), to purchase his book:  An Unbroken Chain: My journey through the Nazi Holocaust. He even signed the inside cover.

It was an obviously sad story, but still I was attracted to the idea that there were these links in the chain of his life that were imperative to his survival of Auschwitz and other concentration camps. Growing up, I loved the concept of fate/destiny/serendipity. I just knew in my heart of hearts that there was this mysterious...something that linked seemingly random events together into meaningful and significant moments.

Lately I've been a bit reflective on my own journey to where I am today. In a way, I'm living a life I never dreamed of; yet, it's exactly what I wanted.

Some links in my chain that I'm grateful for:

• Growing up on a farm with a hard-working family. While I didn't always (often) enjoy it at the time, I'm so grateful for learning how to put in an honest day's work. I've learned a lot of life lessons from tough days on the farm, like seeing the tangible benefits of discipline. 
• My parents. Along with teaching me about hard work, they taught me how to save and spend appropriately. I hated saving the birthday and Christmas money I received every year, unable to spend any of it. But when freshman year of college rolled around, and I had to pay for expensive textbooks, tuition, and a dorm room, I was incredibly grateful.
• Uncommon experiences with other cultures:
• My family hosted a Brazilian foreign exchange student while in high school (something I still wonder about to this day - we were definitely not the type of family to sign up for something like this!) This created a new interest for me - learning about other countries.
• When I joined staff, I was in a core group of 7 other women to connect with. Five of these woman had just returned from STINT, all over the world. For six weeks I got to hear story after story of God at work all over the world. I think that is a huge reason I said yes to doing the WSN Ops role at work.

 There are a lot of other links in my chain I'd love to tell you about, but you get the idea. If you've got some time this week, I encourage you to think about what links in your chain have led you to where you are today. It has been really encouraging for me to look back and see God's hand at work in my life, especially in the midst of transition and change.

Finishings.

In about two weeks, I will hit one of my favorite times of the year.

The first week back in the office will be over, and I'll have learned everyone's name and new cubical placements, caught up on everyone's summers, and settled in for another year of ministry. Football seasons will be just getting underway, and the hope of a decent season is still intact. Cooler weather settles in (I hope), along with changing leaves and beautiful landscapes to capture with my lens.

...And a certain pumpkin-flavored drink will appear at one of my favorite coffee shops down the road.

I have another simple reason for enjoying this time of year:  time is on my side. The new (school) year is just beginning. I only have a small number of very important things to work on, that don't take too much brain power. Meaning I can spend a majority of my time and energy mentally and physically preparing for the craziness that is ahead. I can reorganize my desk and filing system, clean out my e-mail folders, and update files and processes.

I love this stuff. Taking time to reorganize, realign and reformat things at the beginning will make me more effective when I get to my busy work seasons (TCX, SPDT, KC...all the important times of the year are apparently represented by acronyms).

The "beginning" stage is typically the most fun stage for me (diving into why that is true would take another post altogether). But lately I've been finishing things, and that's been fun, too. Here are a couple huge things I've been working on that will be finished soon, or have recently finished:

1. Preaching my first sermon.
Last week my pastor was out of town and I stepped in for him to preach a sermon on Evangelism. I had a 3 month lead time on this project, which included 6 weeks in East Asia where I didn't give one thought to the sermon, so I needed the lead time. I feel a huge sense of accomplishment for this project, which included a ton of prep work I didn't anticipate.

2. Closing the Books on Our Summer Projects.
From Nov 1 to Sept 1, my schedule is packed with summer project planning and prep. We're just 2 weeks away from wrapping up our finances and student accounts. I love our SP's, but I can't wait for the books to be closed on this season. Luckily I've had some awesome help throughout the summer to ensure the books will in fact get closed in a proper way.

3. Finding an apartment.
The hunt for a new place to live has been arduous, to say the least. It started in March with trying to find a new roommate. Now two weeks before I get kicked out of my apartment, I have a roommate... but still working on that place to live. We're still figuring things out, but there's a light at the end of the tunnel. I think. I'm growing in areas of patience and perseverance with this one.

4. Reading.
It seems a little weird to include this one, but I'm notorious for reading 7 books at one time and finishing none of them. I started and finished two books during my 6 weeks in East Asia, and have recently finished 2 more that I began before I left. Now, on to the other 3 I'm in the middle of...

For someone who loves to start new projects, but struggles to finish them, putting the cover on the box that contains these major tasks, and putting the box on a shelf in a closet and closing the door, feels really good. Here's to a new year, complete with many startings and finishings!