Thursday, December 23, 2010

Daily 5 - Year 2, Day 130

Today's Daily 5:
  1. 1 year, 130 days of making these lists
  2. going to bed laughing last night after talking with a friend, after an evening that absolutely could have gone the opposite direction.  And, I'm very certain that laughter helped me sleep decently, instead of the rough night that sometimes comes from the harder emotional stuff.  But transitioning from the hard stuff to laughter was such a blessing last night.
  3. A postcard that came yesterday with a surfing kangaroo on it.  Still making me smile, a day later.  This one might be destined to land on my wall of smiles!
  4. starting the day with an email that came all the way from New Zealand, and was from a dear friend and former roommate
  5. not having to worry about the stresses of winter driving since I don't own a car and take the bus or train everywhere I go
  6. drop in day at work.  It was absolutely nuts, but fun, too.  I mean, how many people out there can say that they were directly involved in providing Christmas gifts for over 200 families (and counting since I left before they closed) covering nearly 500 children, in one day?  It was so cool to be able to bless people that way, and so many left wishing us blessings and Merry Christmas!
  7. a great staff with just the right mix of people.  Very important since probably 150 of those families went through in the first four hours!
  8. the slight feeling of vindication upon successfully stopping one woman who was intent on getting more gifts for her child, even though we'd served her earlier in the week.  It's not that I feel particularly vicious, just that I find that little bit of justice satisfying, since we know we had others who probably quite likely did cheat the system today, leaving less for families that were genuinely needy, or coming for the first time.
  9. getting home early, taking a night off, and curling up in my pajamas in bed with a mug of tea.
  10. hemp lip balm from The Body Shop
  11. loving my iphone and the functionality of the apps I use.  It's so brilliant for me to be able to make lists for the daily 5, have my calendar, all my contacts, my grocery list, my to do list, my email, my phone, and even a few games and health and fitness tracking things in one place, always accessible!
  12. trading texts with a number of good friends today at various points, and loving being able to share bits and pieces of our days in that way.
  13. the constant presence of my parents these days, particularly as I navigate my tricky living situation and wait to see what comes for school.
  14. more snarky emails - just too fun to trade these with a friend, laughing and sarcastic and poking fun at whatever is our topic of choice.
  15. thankful that the weather today wasn't any colder than it was.

Reverb 10: Day 23 - A New Name

Today's Reverb 10 prompt:

December 23 – New Name

Let’s meet again, for the first time. If you could introduce yourself to strangers by another name for just one day, what would it be and why?

(Author: Becca Wilcott)

I've thought about this prompt off and on since it popped into my email inbox late last night.

My thoughts run in several directions.

There's the friend I once met who was a telephone information line operator.  They didn't use their real names, so she'd pick a new name for each day.  One day she would be Faye, and the next Kathy, and so on.  A new person, every day.

But the thought that is most prominent is that it's taken me an awfully long time to make peace with my name, and I don't think I'd change it.

My parents named me Lisa Christine.  They picked the name for it's meaning.  Lisa, a derivative of Elizabeth, means consecrated or dedicated to God.  Christine, quite simply, means "Christian."  It was a name they felt appropriate for their firstborn - "A Christian, consecrated (set apart) to God."

I hated that meaning for a lot of years.  It felt like a heavy burden, particularly during the many years as a teenager that I struggled with depression and wanted nothing so much as to escape as far as possible from the Christian upbringing that felt burdensome and lacking in joy.

It's hard to be the one questioning God when your day is a pastor and your parents decreed you a believer, set apart for God, from birth.  I felt like I was failing not only God, but disappointing my parents with my inability to live within the boundaries of my name.

It's only in the last couple of years that I've begun to see my name as the blessing my parents intended it to be.  Hopes and dreams for their child, spoken over me.  A blessing and prayer spoken each time they called my name.  In those years I've met Jesus deeply, and today I can truly declare that my heart's desire is indeed to be follower of Christ, set apart unto him.

Having finally made peace with that name, I don't think I'd change it.