Looking back after more than a dozen years of life with kids at this international school in Japan, I know that January has a habit of going from zero to 100 km/h almost instantaneously. I never feel ready. In fact it was quite discouraging to get to Monday this week (when school started back and I started taking work more seriously again) to find myself already tired.
It hasn't been exactly 100 km/h all week, in fact after a busy start to the week, I've been able to sit quietly at my desk for three days just catching up on work here. It's been challenging, but not impossible.
At the same time, though, I've had a rash of decisions to make about future commitments, starting with this Saturday: Will I commit to being at school by 7.30 to help set up for a wrestling tournament, followed by meeting friends for dinner that evening? Will I also commit to help providing food for the tournament refs and coaches, which means buying stuff on Friday? As I considered those questions, I took into consideration that I'd already committed to providing home baked goods for another event at school on Monday, goods that I won't have the time to make on the weekend, so will have to do it on Friday. And that I expect to be back at my desk working on Monday morning, as well as lead a meeting in the afternoon. Yep, 100 km/h is just around the corner.
And that's just one instance.
There have been a few other smaller and bigger commitments for the coming couple of months that I've thought about this week. Yep, the stuff that can easily get me into trouble by saying too many yeses. That's where it starts. Each yes seems small, but they quickly get out of control and by then, if you mean what you say when you say "yes", you just can't stop the train.
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| Frail field flowers in October |
If you've read my first blog post for 2023, you'll realise that we're facing up to a big year, one that will probably get crazy busy. I've been searching for a passage of scripture to try to anchor myself as I head into this and I've found Psalm 103. I've pasted it below in its entirety for you. There are lots of nuggets in it to ponder. Just now I'm leaning into these phrases: "Your youth is renewed like the eagle’s" (v. 5 NIV) and "As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field; the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more" (vv. 13–16).
God remembers that we don't have much in reserve, that we are pretty frail, not only that but he has compassion on us (the sort of compassion that us parents have for our kids, that makes us weak in the stomach when something goes wrong for them that we want to fix). On top of all that he also has the power to renew our strength. What great truths these are, and worthy of leaning in to when the future looks overwhelming!
Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
He made known his ways to Moses,
his deeds to the people of Israel:
The Lord is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
for he knows how we are formed,
he remembers that we are dust.
The life of mortals is like grass,
they flourish like a flower of the field;
the wind blows over it and it is gone,
and its place remembers it no more.
But from everlasting to everlasting
the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children—
with those who keep his covenant
and remember to obey his precepts.
The Lord has established his throne in heaven,
and his kingdom rules over all.
Praise the Lord, you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
who obey his word.
Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts,
you his servants who do his will.
Praise the Lord, all his works
everywhere in his dominion.
Praise the Lord, my soul. (Psalm 103, NIV)
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