I’m sure I’ve pulled out the old Douglas Adams quote before, but it’s true:
“Time is an illusion, and lunchtime doubly so”
So, time was at its illusionary best last saturday when I got to catch up with some of my oldest friends.
If you were to discover a snapshot of my childhood, at least one of the people pictured above is likely to be in it.
Friday night meant time for the Bevans (Chris on the left, Nell at front in the blue & Lucy to Nell’s left) to come over. A glass of Seaview for the mums & a 20c mixture (lollies, or “candy” for our American friends) for the kids.
Somewhere on the weekend, or definitely in the holidays we’d see Scott (Right) and his mum Ness (to Nell’s left), Anthony (Centre-right) and the Pannell clan.
Guy Fawkes Night, January at Pearl Beach, lazy summer days on the SS Bundabah, these were my formative years.
Still… my formative years are long since gone…
15+ years.
It’s been that long since I have seen some of the crew, but when we got together on Saturday afternoon, the sun stopped in the sky, the calenders spun in the opposite direction & for a few short hours I could have been 10 again.
It’s a worthy addition to my little “Things I Like” theme. It’s nice that we have friends who are there for a season. You know, the people you hang out with at Uni, but don’t really keep in contact with after.
But even better are the friends for the long haul. It’s not that you have to see them every week (or in this case, you might not have seen them for over a decade), but there is enough shared history, enough context, that there will always be the connection.
Even if it’s just spent reminiscing, the time has great value.
Here’s hoping we can organise a proper catch up for the parents now!
…. And to leave you, a happy little santa picture. Our departure from the Manly Wharf Hotel was ushered in, in part, by the arrival of 400-odd santas on a pub crawl.
Surreal to catch up with a bunch of old friends? Yes!
Too surreal to catch up with said friends whilst surrounded with santas? absolutely.
So, I worked through the Youthworks biblestudy book on Philippians with Caleb from youth group. It was good to go back through it, because I had preached on the book at the beginning of the year. It was also good because it’s a nice convicting book that can’t help but put things in perspective.
In particular, I got to thinking about verses 12-13 of Chapter 4.
“12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do everything through him who gives me strength. ”
Am I really content? More importantly, is contentment something that we gain, or something that we practice?
I suspect that, being part of such a capitalistic society, we get caught up in the idea that contentment is something that we have to gain or achieve. If only I can get the right girl/boyfriend, if only I have the right car, live in the right suburb, get a degree from the right place, have the right friends, own the right brands, then I will “BE” content. It’s always something that we are aiming for, and of course, it is always something we come up short on.
What if we recognised that we’re already blessed & that we need to “Practice” contentment. I’m not saying that we should just magically be happy, but maybe, by focussing on those things that we already have, we can come to appreciate our present life more and worry about our future life less.
The things we spend our time thinking about, or chasing after, are the things that we come to value.
So, I’ve decided to start blogging about things that I am content with. What opportunities God is giving me. All of the good things that I have in my life. Some of them might be small & trivial & some might be big & meaningful, but all of them are a blessing….
OK, I’ll start off with two biggies, since they were brought to my attention last weekend…
1: Family.
So, I was at a wedding last weekend. My cousin Nick & the gorgeous Marika (Sorry Nick. Your picture doesn’t make it this time…). It was great to hang out with them, but it was also great to have the whole family together. My sister was up from Wagga, and my brother from Melbourne. I also had a whole passel of cousins at the gig. I realised that I love my family!
OK, so I am not stating anything profound here, but it is still an important realisation to have. So many people constantly bicker with their families. There’s a movie currently out about the pain of having to go to family Christmases, but for me it’s a highlight of my year.
Family are an awesome thing. Rather than thinking about how I don’t get to see them as much as I’d like, I’m practicing contentment, knowing I have an awesome one!
Amy, Shona & Kristin
2: Friends from Bible College
So on the weekend I had my graduation ceremony for Bible college. It was great to see a whole bunch of familiar faces & catch up on old times. Of course, I don’t need to look to special events to be reminded of the good things I have. I’m lucky enough that I work 15 mins away from Dan & we have breakfast once a week.
However, Sunday was a great reminder of the great gift I had.
I only got to chat to Bainy for about 5 minutes on and off, but we talked about important stuff. Art & its relationship to ministry. Art & its relationship to life. I was challenge. I had to think deeply & hopefully I gave Bainy something to think about. I’ve also really enjoyed his blog. It’s a little bit of college online…
Sometimes I feel really sad that college is over, but today I am practicing contentment, knowing that I had the opportunity to learn heaps during my time at SMBC & that I have a network of friends who continue to challenge me.
Dan performing his exam ceremony during the first year exams…
So, there’s my two… Where is your contentment today?