Winnipeg

Having just returned from a wonderful few days in glorious Winnipeg, I have decided to post a few pictures from my travels. Friday was a chance to see the girls and distribute the next book for our reading pleasure. Saturday was a Manitoban “social” … with a Halloween theme, hence the costumes. Sunday I got to see the wonderful Janice (and finally meet this Jeff of hers). Monday and today were days just to sit back and relax a little.

Of course, there are always many stories to be told. You’ll have to ask in person since it really would take volumes to detail everything. All said, it was really, really good to see them all again.

Jotting it down

If you look to the end of this post, you will notice that I have put it into the category “of my soul”. At first glance, the content might seem cursory but there is a strong affinity in my being for the cursive.

Greg bemoaned the demise of cursive writing today as he recalled his moleskin journal that is without an adequate pen.

I have a shoebox of letters and cards stashed away at the top my closet. I also have a few emails that I have printed off for safe-keeping. The thoughts, sentiments and memories are similar between the two piles but the handwritten ones are of far more value for me. We could exchange a thousand e-mails but I will always cherish the card you wrote a few lines in, the postcard from your travels or the letter you sent when a phone call just wouldn’t do.

There is something to be said for the texture of the paper, the flow of ink, the faint sound as nib scratches the delicate fibres. The tactility of the cursive art is so utterly important.

Your penmanship is unique to you; like the sound of your voice, the colour of your eyes or the way you walk into a room. A few jotted lines is more intimate than we realize and so often taken for granted. As I gaze at the way you form your a’s, loop your g’s and cross your t’s; as I imagine you sitting with pen in hand, empty page before you; as I think of it’s journey through the post … I think of you.

Sex, love and theology

So this thought conglomeration has been a long time in the coming; nearly a year and a half since I promised further comment on the topic on another’s blog. At the time, I’d recently finished listening to a commentary on Pope JP II’s Theology of the Body (Christopher West). It was then that I began to understand much of the Catholic point-of-view. A few months ago, in Ottawa, I met Nat who was emptying her bookshelves in anticipation of returning home to Australia. One of my finds was Sex and the Supremacy of Christ (ed, John Piper). At last I had found somewhat of a counterpoint in Protestant writing. Along the way, I was also given an article, Theological foundations for male-female relationships (Stanley Grenz), to further diversify my readings. Most recently, I came across Joe Carter’s article, Redeeming Eros: A Christian View of Sex and the Imagination (thanks to TVFH).

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What an amazing day!

Today was good. It all started with a gorgeous sunrise … pink and orange streaking through low-lying clouds and an ever so foggy field.

As I was standing in line at the coffee place at work, I was thinking that it would be nice if the lady actually remembered my order. You know, to be one of the regulars. And whaddya know – she did!

Then I got my preliminary schedule for my upcoming trip to The Gambia. I am now starting to get excited folks! I’m actually going to be gone for an extra 3 days than I initially thought. There are ants in my pants, I’m so eager to go. :)

And then, when I picked up my mail, I got a copy of the J. Peterman catalog. It is reminicent of how catalogs used to be; hand drawn images, tailored lines and a stunning commentary for each piece. Oh be still my heart (and put away that credit card).

Did I neglect to mention that it is now two months ’til Christmas!!! How very exciting.

All things come together

Someone who recently went back and read through my entire blog (someone with a lot of time on their hands), noted that almost exactly two years ago, I mentioned The Gambia. Specifically an old volunteer posting for a pharmacist in The Gambia.

I’d completely forgotten about my contact with VSO until today. And I had no idea that the posting was also for The Gambia.

With regards to the other bit in that old post: I do feel like pharmacy is part of the vocation but not the vocation in and of itself. The career I’m in simply provides me a means with which (or by which) to do the things God has pressed upon my heart.

In the past two years I have taken on many new things. Each opportunity was a step in the plan; a step that brought me closer to this moment today.

I still think it is extremely important to have goals and dreams yet also to not be discouraged when one cannot put a checkmark beside them. In spite of the most vivid imagination, God’s plans will never cease to amaze. Maybe I’m just catching onto what not my will but Yours actually means.