Productively time in the waiting room

Usually when in a waiting room I grab some out-of-date magazine, flip pages and skim the pictures. It's a real busy, productive time, right?

Today I made a list of things I needed to accomplish and then estimated how much time it would take to do each of the tasks. I calculated that these tasks for the day would take me about 14 hours which needed to be accomplished in the next 10 hours if I was going to make the church youth group meeting that would last until 10pm. By looking at how often I write blogs, you can see that I don't have a lot of spare time on my hands.

In this stage I'm in of being a full-time student of culture here in Siberia, it looks and feels like a long road ahead. I'm over half way done with formal studies of the Russian language, yet will forever be working on improving my grammar, vocabulary and accent. My plans, taking me to the Republic of Tuva, are full of even further study – not of Russian but of the Tuvan people, culture and language. To my knowledge there are no programs or even study material for learning the Tuvan language. Even if I found an awesome teacher, it doesn't look like there is a way to live in Tuva and dedicate time solely to learning the Tuvan language (having to work or be a full-time student at a university). It's going to take extra effort and a lot of time to learn the Tuvan language.

Why dedicate so much time culture and language study? So that I can understand and communicate to a people group that God very much loves. I'm anxious to get to this point, but it looks like quite a ways in the future. This season of my life can sometimes seem like a long time of waiting.

How is it that while we're supposedly waiting to get where we're going, we have so much to do?

Could it be that we're not really in a time of waiting? Could it be that God wants to work in us today, prepare us for tomorrow and not just get us to tomorrow?

One of my pet-peeves is when people who are "waiting" for God to bring Mr/Mrs Right forget to live today or even give up on their God given desires and callings. So you'd think that I would act against this same unbiblical attitude on waiting in my own life.

Are we going to let times of waiting for answers or results hinder us from accomplishing what God has for us to learn and do now? Maybe I should stop flipping pages and skimming pictures and be productive during this valuable time in the "waiting room".

Peanut Butter Cookies

Trip to the Cemetery

Several weeks ago I went to the cemetery with a friend to visit their husband's grave. I volunteered to go with her months ago and it was certainly good to be there with her as she remembered and mourned for her husband. It was also interesting to see a Russian cemetery and compare it to ones in the US. Unfortunately, I do not have any pictures to show you – one, I wasn't sure if that was very reverent to be taking a bunch of pictures of other people's graves; and two, my batteries where dead anyway. But I will share a few interesting things that stood out to me about my "introduction" to the Russian Cemetery.

The newer graves (less than a year old) where very easy to recognize as they were COVERED and pilled high (in some cases over 4 feet high) with fake flours, giant wreaths (that looked like fake Christmas trees), flags and ribbons. Traditionally, the family waits a year before having the head stone placed.

Several (of not the majority) of the graves had a small bench and little table next to them. My friend explained to me that this was so that loved ones could come and eat and drink with them.

The head stones varied in style and extravagance. I noticed many with the Russian Orthodox cross on them and others with stars. I thought the star was just a decorative symbol but when I noticed more and more I thought perhaps it symbolized a soldier or something to do with the military. I asked my friend about the star and she said that it indicated that they were atheist but the cross symbolized that they were believers (in God). I couldn't help but sadly wonder how many people wished they could come back from the grave and scrape that star of their head stone.

My friend told me before arriving to the cemetery that she would take me past the special graves designated for the academics (for those who are like me and don't know what that means – it is a very highly educated person (president of a university, professor/doctor, scientist) that a board of already appointed "academics" esteems worthy enough in knowledge, education and experience to be named an "academic"). The name of the suburb in which I live means "academic town" – so as you can imagine there are a lot of academics here. My friend talks about "our academics" SO proudly and with so much respect it should have been no wonder how impressive their graves would be. I wish I had a picture to show you of their "graves" – many had sculptures or busts of the academic, with a marble pad covering the entire square (about 10 times bigger than the normal plots) that was marked off by a fancy chain fence. Their wives where berried alongside them with a more simple head stone (usually white). After having been to Arlington Cemetery, I'd say that Kennedy's grave (even though it has an eternal flame) can't hold a candle to those of the Russian academics. (It is almost midnight here, so forgive me if that is on the corny side.)

These extravagant graves for the highly educated go to show just how important knowledge and education are to the Russian people. Science is hailed. That same friend that went with me to the cemetery often backs up "strange" (to me anyway) theories by simply saying "Well, the scientists said it, so we know it's true." During one discussion in particular (involving the energy of plants and how they receive positive or negative energy from people near them who are "givers" or "takers" thus effecting their growth) it came to my mind that we try to prove and make sense of everything. Some think everything happens for a reason that reason must be scientifically explainable. I might suggest that while certainly everything happens for a reason, perhaps it's because there is some One causing it and not some thing…

I don't know when I'll go to the cemetery again – but I hope I will be able to be there for my friend when she goes again.

For anyone who will happen to visit my grave (wherever and whenever it will be), please don't treat some bones in the ground as if they're me. After I'm dead, I'll be too busy living how I was meant to live to just lie around :)

Not a Sacrifice … a Surrender

I was so blessed by the lyrics of this song by Jason Upton that I wanted to share them with you. God not only has what's best for us in-mind but what is far greater then we could even imagine! So why not just give our all to Him. After all, it all came from Him.

No Sacrifice by Jason Upton

To you I give my life, not just the parts I want to
To you I sacrifice these dreams that I hold on to

Your thoughts are higher than mine
Your words are deeper than mine
Your love is stronger than mine
This is no sacrifice
Here's my life

To you I give the gifts
Your love has given me
How can I hoard the treasures that you've designed for free?

Because
Your thoughts are higher than mine
Your words are deeper than mine
Your love is stronger than mine
This is no sacrifice
Here's my life

To you I give my future
As long as it may last
To you I give my present
To you I give my past

Because
Your thoughts are higher than mine
Your words are deeper than mine
Your love is stronger than mine
Your thoughts are higher than mine
Your words are deeper than mine
Your love is stronger than mine
This is no sacrifice
Here's my life