life overtaken

Our life has been overtaken in the last couple of months.  With Bren returning to university, me taking a part time job, the (barely?) manageable pace we once had has disappeared - at least for this season.  Flatlanders is the place where so much of our energy is directed.  Living intentionally at Sutherland and Main seems like a lifestyle that is more sustainable in theory than in practice at this point.
I hope the speed of life returns to a more rhythmic normal sometime soon.

walk for healing

A couple weeks back, I was driving across the prairies on my way home from classes... I always keep my eye open for people needing a ride, and as I was nearinig Broadview, SK I saw some young people walking along the road.  I was pretty sure they weren't hitchhikers, but something prompted me to stop anyways and say hello.  So I pulled over and waited for them to catch up to my truck...

 I asked what they were up to, and they told me they were walking for Healing.  I was intrigued!  Our conversation continued, and I became more and more impressed.  Each day, the group walks for a different kind of healing, or for different groups of people to be healed.  They are not focusing on any specific 'illness' - they are talking to the Creator, each other, and anyone else who is interested about all kinds of physical, spiritual, emotional, and relational healing.  They've walked for kids in care, for moms and dads, for reconciliation in Canada and lots of other themes.

They started out in May in Kamloops, BC, and are hoping to winter in Winnipeg, with a possible re-start to the East coast in the spring.  I hope to spend some time with them while they're in my city!

If you're interested in knowing more, and you're on facebook, check out the Justin Young Walk of Healing page. 

I ended up having luch with the walkers and enjoying my time with them immensely.  Each one had a story to share, and they did so with beauty, vulnerability, and wisdom.  It was a gift to meet up with them.  I would have missed out on so much if I'd have just driven by!  (so keep your eyes peeled if you're driving along the #1 highway west of Winnipeg!  It's pretty easy to stop and share snacks and encouragement!)

I snapped this picture later on that weekend, when I caught up on the week with my husband while we enjoyed a picnic near Sturgeon Creek... it was supposed to be a family event, but the kids were excused after whining for 2 hours about how lame family picnics are.  We had fun without them!

Have you ever undertaken something thinking you understood it clearly, only to find out you'd really had no real clue of what you were getting yourself into?

That's my space as I learn more about becoming a counselor this week.  I feel like a pretzel - twisted this way and that, turned inside out, and then prodded a little bit more just for some extra fun.  It turns out that its me who is doing much of the examining and prodding, which feels even harder than if someone else were doing it.

The books we read make the practice of counseling seem straightforward and simple.  In theory, I can do this.  It seems easy!  But the act of sitting with someone, even myself, in suffering and pain, sends me running, wanting to fix and cure, to apply the right method, to bring comfort at all costs.

As an exercise, we've been encouraged to pay attention to our inner dialogue, to reflect on what is happening within that causes us to act or react in certain ways.  I have been doing that for several days now, and I don't know if my emotions have ever been so tired.  I feel spent.  A game of Twister might be a refreshing diversion right about now!

Are we willing to scrap the illusion of being experts who, if we can find and wield the proper methods, have the power to cure our clients and fix their maladies? - J. Olthuis, The Beautiful Risk 

God created a reminder, an image.  Humanity is a reminder of God.  As God is compassionate, let humanity be compassionate. - Rabbi A.J. Heschel