Sunday is designed for productivity! ... right? It was today, somehow. I measure productivity by the ratio of time spent out of bed to in it. Sundays tend to be nap days... my brain nearly always shuts down after lunch.
With the understanding that there are two weeks left, I cast a wary eye at my half of the room and decided it was in my best interest to start throwing away the clutter that has accumulated over the past eight weeks. After books had been piled, papers categorized into keep or toss, and laundry folded on the bed, I set off to go to Bible study in Alexandria. It was the last Bible study that I'll be attending here, and for that reason it was a bit bittersweet evening. It was hard to say goodbye to the people that I've grown closer to Christ with over this summer, the people who I've opened up to with my thoughts and feelings. It was a quiet goodbye, similar to every other week, except that I left my email address and cell number with a few that asked for it. Quiet goodbyes are good... I might have cried if there had been a fuss. This group was so instrumental in providing a spiritual respite from the long week.
Sundays are mundane, predictable, and generally not quite as productive as I would like them to be. They aren't my favorite day, but I find that they're crucial to my sanity. Saturdays in DC are not relaxing because of the pressure to catch up on academic projects and take advantage of the incredible city around you, all the while feeling exhausted from the worker-ant frenzy that the week demands you engage in. Sundays are my day of rest because between commuting to and from church and small group there isn't a great deal of time to do anything that requires a great deal of time, so it usually ends up with me face down in a pillow; I spent most of the summer feeling comfortably guilty (comfortable because I brought my favorite pillow with me to DC) on Sundays until I had a sudden and striking realization.
It is quite possible that the most important lesson I've learned in DC is that it's absolutely okay to be still.
With the understanding that there are two weeks left, I cast a wary eye at my half of the room and decided it was in my best interest to start throwing away the clutter that has accumulated over the past eight weeks. After books had been piled, papers categorized into keep or toss, and laundry folded on the bed, I set off to go to Bible study in Alexandria. It was the last Bible study that I'll be attending here, and for that reason it was a bit bittersweet evening. It was hard to say goodbye to the people that I've grown closer to Christ with over this summer, the people who I've opened up to with my thoughts and feelings. It was a quiet goodbye, similar to every other week, except that I left my email address and cell number with a few that asked for it. Quiet goodbyes are good... I might have cried if there had been a fuss. This group was so instrumental in providing a spiritual respite from the long week.
Sundays are mundane, predictable, and generally not quite as productive as I would like them to be. They aren't my favorite day, but I find that they're crucial to my sanity. Saturdays in DC are not relaxing because of the pressure to catch up on academic projects and take advantage of the incredible city around you, all the while feeling exhausted from the worker-ant frenzy that the week demands you engage in. Sundays are my day of rest because between commuting to and from church and small group there isn't a great deal of time to do anything that requires a great deal of time, so it usually ends up with me face down in a pillow; I spent most of the summer feeling comfortably guilty (comfortable because I brought my favorite pillow with me to DC) on Sundays until I had a sudden and striking realization.
It is quite possible that the most important lesson I've learned in DC is that it's absolutely okay to be still.
Blessings,
Clarice
Clarice