I was about to start this post by saying 'the last couple of months have been exceptionally busy', but stopped myself on the basis that it was definitely going to be a misuse of the word exceptional, when there has in fact been nothing out of the ordinary. But it has been busy nonetheless: which is not a complaint, it is simply a fact. I wouldn't want it any other way.
In the midst of said busy-ness it can be easy to get caught up in the ever-lengthening to do lists and nitty-gritty of the everyday. It can be easy to focus on juggling multiple things at the same time or diving straight from one thing into the next. It can be easy to dwell on the enormity and unsolvability (which might not really be a word!) of the overarching issues.
It can be easy to forget to pause and to prioritise. To forget to celebrate the precious little moments shared and appreciate the baby steps forward. To forget to remind ourselves what we are doing and why.
Because yes, the last couple of months have been busy, and yes, of course there have been some struggles and frustrations in the mix, but they have mostly been busy with very many beautiful things, including, in no specific order:
- Birthday cakes and candles
- Being alongside people in the nerves and excitement of first days at school
- Early morning starts accompanied by beautiful sunrises
- Phone calls and zoom calls and the connections they enable
- A bit of DIY, a lot of sorting and tidying, and a house very much feeling like a home
- The laughter, tears, anger and hope of sharing stories with new groups of people in new place
- A cathedral filled with prayer and unity, and the connections that make it possible
- Reading good books
- Messages to and from all sorts of people and the holding of the relationships to which they witness
- Plans made, paper work done, spreadsheets updated, expenses paid
- Witnessing or becoming aware of lots of little gestures of welcome by lots of different people just quietly getting on with doing their thing
- Finding school uniform that fits, and watching children and young people wear it with pride
- Taking a young person on their first ever train journey and knowing that on their second ever train journey they managed just fine on their own
- A bit of editing and proof-reading, and a bit of watching people grow beyond the support they once needed and start to trust their own abilities and make their way in the world
- A space to pray in gold, and green and purple
- Meeting new people, and scratching new countries off a map
- Cups of tea and conversations: the silly, the superficial and the serious
- Down time and in between times of doing not very much
- Schools saying yes again and again
- Finding a place in a new faith community, and space for deep reflections with an existing online one
- Hearing long-awaited good news for people I care about
- Every number in every column adding up as it is supposed to
- The anticipation of new projects as they start to take shape
- The words "report submitted on time" appearing next to our entry on the charities commission website.
- Board games and card games and associated fun and laughter with different groups of people
- Sharing in good news stories and being entrusted with more difficult ones.
- Lots of painted faces and the smiles behind them
- Staying connected with and reconnecting with friends
- Opportunities to cook and eat and celebrate together, creating chaos but also community
The pausing matters. The remembering matters. Because this, and so much more, is why the busy-ness is, in fact, all worth while.
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