Sunday, August 28, 2011

hunkering down for a hurricane.

 photo via

I moved to Massachusetts expecting beautiful falls, mild (for me) summers, and long, snowy winters. What I did not expect, however, was hurricanes. Or rather, one particular hurricane named Irene that has been ravening the East coast for the past few days (just in case you were living under a rock).

Despite the initial predictions and all of the resulting hoopla, we survived today with only mild inconveniences. Yesterday afternoon, we stocked up on groceries, batteries, and jugs of bottled water. Our supplies and precautions were unneeded, but it was still good to have them.

The hurricane did provide us with a couple of rather windy, rainy days, which was a good chance for all of us to stay in the house and have some good community time. After going out Friday night to St. Anthony's Festival and some local bars with a few FJV's, I spent the rest of the weekend just hanging around the house. We did not go to church this morning (apparently, Boston's archbishop excused us--thanks!), and instead made a leisurely breakfast of pancakes and scrambled eggs. I spent the rest of the day working on decorating my room (finally there are pictures up on the walls!) and baking a loaf of whole wheat French bread, among other things.

The past few weeks have been a crazy blur, as we went from regional orientation to local orientation to beginning (and completing) our first week of work. Honestly, even though my original plans for the weekend included wandering around and exploring half of Boston, after being forced to spend the past two days inside our house, I'm actually really thankful. Instead of continually pushing myself, it was a good way to relax and mentally recharge. 

I guess the hurricane can been seen as another example of the differences between God's timing and my own; when I want to keep rushing, keep doing, God whispers to me to slow down, to take a moment (or a weekend) to just be exactly where I am. And that's one of things this year is about, right? Simple living and learning to appreciate what I have been given... one natural disaster at a time.

1 comment:

  1. Thanks for the update! I loved your last paragraph... especially the phrase 'God whispers to me'. So POWERFUL!

    Also, I enjoyed reading about your job description in your last post. It sounds like you will be helping so many and that they are eager to learn! Those are the best students.

    Til the next comment...

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