Wednesday, June 21, 2006

Interesting Days

It's been an interesting couple of days. Not interesting in the "major world shifting events" sense of the word, but interesting in the "lots of little things have happened that inspire deep pondering" sense of the word.

I spent a chunk of Monday morning playing with a beautiful little boy from my dad's church while his mom had a conversation with my dad. His parents are new believers, and face a number of challenges that would stress even the strongest person. All three of their children have a rare disease that creates a wide variety of serious challenges for them. Add to that the fact that they are the only siblings in the world with this disease (no other family has more than one child with this disorder), and that specialists in the field are rare, and you have an interesting combo. If you add to that the fact that the youngest one, the cutie I spent the morning with on Monday, is profoundly deaf, you have a combo guaranteed to make stress a daily reality. After he and his mom left our house, their family, and particularly him continued to be on my mind through the day and most of Tuesday.

Yesterday we got a phone call from his dad. The little one was taken to hospital yesterday, seriously ill. Today he's been somewhat stabilized, and they may move him from intensive care, but he remains extremely ill, and they're uncertain as to the cause. Funny how he was so heavily on my mind, in my thoughts and prayers, and the next day he was taken to hospital so very ill.

I had lunch with a friend on Tuesday as well. We talked about life and god stuff and boys. She's been a close friend for a couple of years now, and God has been doing some fun stuff in her life lately. We try to have a meal or coffee together at least once a week to stay abreast of what's happening with each other and with each other's families. We ran a couple of errands together, and then she headed off to work.

I also spent last evening with friends at a birthday party. I greatly enjoyed the chance to simply hang out with people who are new friends (I met most of them on my trip to Mexico) but who have quickly become deeply valued friends. I love how God connections can create deep and meaningful relationships with others - the central thing to both parties is Christ, and that binds hearts in a way that I've rarely encountered elsewhere.

On the job front, Samaritans' Purse called me yesterday. They gave the position I was interested in to someone else, but apparently enjoyed meeting me, and have asked to keep my resume on file for future positions. So I guess that's a good thing. I also had an interview at a placement agency this morning, and wow! I've interviewed at a few different agencies recently, and been assured that they could place me, and then never heard from them again. This agency set me up for an interview with a company this afternoon, and have promised that they will be in touch in the next few days with at least one or two more possibilities. Or, I could possibly have a job by the end of tomorrow with the company I interviewed with today. So, on that front, I'm encouraged where I had been quite discouraged. It had seemed that I was getting very little interest in my qualifications and resumes that I sent out, but today has lifted my spirits.

Other than that, I have little to report. I've found some images for my art project, but will probably still be looking for others. I'm reading a fascinating book titled "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell of the NOOMA filsm fame. He discusses the idea that our understanding of Jesus, of Scripture, and of Christianity must be informed by Judaism. Very convincing and interesting points. I've also downloaded a few of his recent sermons and quite enjoyed them. I've read my share of novels the last while, watched some television, a movie or so (Nacho Libre - very funny), sent a few emails, played a few games, and tomorrow I go back to the Bay for the rest of the week. Can't say I'm looking forward to it, but I am clinging to the hope of more interviews and the possibility that I will be offered a good job sometime in the next day or two!