Becoming Orthodox
I was chrismated on the May long weekend. Seeing as it was a long weekend, half of our regular attenders were away, but that was good because we filled up the church with our friends from Living Hope (and others). It was so good to have that much support. When I think of it, I almost feel like crying – happy crying. We have been so blessed with so many who are loving and caring and supportive. We’ve left one amazing church family to join another, equally amazing church family.
The night before my chrismation: I didn’t think that it was going to be a big deal being chrismated. I was prepared for whatever God had in store for me, but wasn’t expecting anything spectacular. What I wasn’t prepared for was that the night before I got the “pre-marriage jitters.” My honey had posted on a mailing list of his about a possible patron saint for me. He had written about my hearts desires (which are very lofty and sometimes I think unattainable), and the first post in response was that I should not desire so much but should pray that I would be more humble and that I would not sin. Yes, I need humility. It has been revealed to me more and more lately that I am full of pride. I am proud. I struggle against authority as much as I respect authority. I question everything and don’t take much at face value.
Before Bruce posted the request, I was worried at what the Orthodox community would think of my desires. What I want is so un-Orthodox, but it’s still what I want. The comment in response, and the timing of it, made me so upset and question what in the world I was doing joining the Orthodox church. I keep saying that I’m not sure they really want me, and yet at the same time, it’s where I want to be. So I spent the evening doubting that I should be going through with becoming Orthodox.
I didn’t back out. But it made me realize that becoming Orthodox was a way bigger deal than becoming a member at any other church I’ve been a part of in the past. Even before my baptism I didn’t have any doubt. I didn’t quite fully comprehend what I was doing and was simply being obedient to what I thought God was asking me to do when I was baptised. But maybe, too, it was that I was younger. *shrug*
But anyway, I did it. I took the plunge - made the commitment. It still sounds weird to me to say, “I am Orthodox.” I told that to someone in my office, and he laughed and said, “You’re anything but Orthodox! You’re, like, new age or something!” I still don’t know quite what he means. But if he means that I’m not a stuffy traditionalist, I can live with that. ^-^
Neopets
In one of my last posts I’d blamed being busy on the reason for not posting. Neopets was one of the places I said I’ve been spending my time. But since they changed the layout of Neopets I actually haven’t been around as much. I’ve been thinking about quitting and giving up all my stuff and pets and such. But there are many things there that I have enjoyed. Maybe I’ll wait a while. Real life has been so busy that I haven’t had as much “waste” time to spend in neoland.
Real Estate
I love my job! I have been swamped, but I love my job. A little while ago, my hubby and a co-worker both gave me a Dilbert cartoon. I’ll try to link it here.
Real estate in Saskatoon has been crazy, and so that means I’ve been really busy. It also means that my dreams of moving into a bigger house are quickly flying out the window. When we bought our house, it had been with the intention that it was the first step toward a house that would fit us better. Now with the housing market, my house is looking pretty good! We have a huge yard, but a small house. Renovating or rebuilding may be the options we’ll have to seriously look at to expand our indoor space – especially when the kids get to be teens. Oh, well. We’ll blow up that bridge when we get to it.
Stress?
I’ve noticed that the last couple of months it seems as though we’ve had something planned almost every night of the week. Meetings, soccer, going for coffee, having people over, volunteering….. it all takes time. I had someone comment to me earlier this year about how in North America we are all so tied to time. She had been in a country (I can’t remember which one) where relationship meant more than time. So if you were supposed to meet someone at 9 a.m. and on your way ran into a cousin, for example, and didn’t get to the meeting, if you said, “Oh, sorry I’m late. I ran into so-and-so,” everyone would just nod and understand. And here we have road rage and people shooting people because they can’t get somewhere fast enough. I saw a news report on CBC about driving in Toronto. They said that that most accidents happen from changing lanes – the more you change lanes, the more likely you are to get into an accident. Then add speed, and you’d be an accident waiting to happen. They did a test where two drivers had to race around this really busy section which would take about an hour in rush hour. One driver was allowed to change lanes as many times as she wanted (she was a professional car driver), but she was not allowed to speed or break any traffic laws. The other driver was only allowed to change lanes if he had to. The result: the driver who could change lanes as often as she liked expressed extreme anxiety over trying to get to her destination while the driver who was to maintain his lane as much as possible said at one point, “we’re going a lot faster than I thought we would.” The changing-lane driver did beat the other driver to the destination – by about 5 minutes. Personally, my health is not worth 5 minutes. I’ve decided not to freak out so much while I’m driving.
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