I Probably Should Not Be A Weather-Man

One thing that I always seem to try to do is peg things the way I envision them. Problem is that things never seem to work out the way I envision them. Prime example: the World Cup. I'm pretty sure that nearly every game (but for some before the round of 16) I picked went to the opposing team: USA was ousted by Ghana in OT; The Netherlands beat up on Slovenia; Spain knocked out Paraguay; Ghana lost in a PK's - after I cried over a missed PK in the last seconds of the game ... lossy crossbar - to Uruguay; and then Spain continued its domination as they then killed Germany and won the World Cup over the Netherlands. (In fact the only joy I seemed to have during the World Cup was that Germany won 3rd).

All that to say that my ability to predict the future isn't the greatest. This isn't simply a sports thing (though I seem to fail the worst in that area), but a general thing. Summer was so so different from the school year for me. The school year was so organized and regimented. Monday I'd hang out at the Barn; Tuesday I'd have breakfast with the guys and then meet to talk about the coming week; Wednesday was 'Project Reach' at PV; Thursday I'd meet with the guys at Faith Christian and then we'd have the Barn; and then I'd slowly close my week with some paperwork and the weekend. For the summer none of these things are happening the same.

I go to hang out at the Barn one Monday and I get four kids, then I go to hang the next week and I am doing drum battles with one student who makes it out. Breakfast has turned into a monthly endeavor. Meeting with the guys from faith is finally happening for the first time this Summer on Saturday - we are having a BBQ. And now the Barn, the only consistent thing, is winding down for the summer. (We will be taking the month of August to recast vision for the Barn, do some more linguistic preparations, and plan for a big event we have on August 21st).

The summer has beat up my expectations and turned it into quite an adventure. I've had many opportunities to help with camps, meet one on one with students that during the school year I hadn't got a chance to, got to help with church activities and events, and also have found a time to get to know our leaders better. A part of me hates being out of the routine, but the other part of me sees the advantage to such change: it is in times like this that I find myself asking all the deeper questions about our ministry, and also, that reminds me of the impact that we are able to be making throughout the year. Yeah I like the routine, and I can't wait for the school year to start back up (though the kids I'm sure will hate me for saying that), but I'm so grateful that God doesn't allow me to peg things so well, and that he teaches me new things in so many new ways.

Sometimes, it is just nice to know God is in control (especially after realizing one's incapability to foresee the simple things in life).