Listening and Redefining

I'm in a social work class this semester entitles Practice 1: Communication. Going into the classroom three weeks ago, I didn't have much of any expectation since I didn't know the professor or what the course would cover, though I had reviewed the syllabus.  


In the past three weeks, Shannon, our professor, has said a few things in passing that nailed themselves to my heart and have yet to be pried off.

In talking about a client's right to self determination she said there will be times when we want to ask: "why don't you want what's good for you?"

Being that I've done an excellent job making decisions against my ultimate best interest, I heard Shannon asking me this question. Later that day, when I came home, I wrote the question on a post-it and stuck it on my mirror to glance at occasionally--have I answered it yet? nope, but I'm mulling it over.

Today we were talking about God only knows what--it was a manic sort of day in the classroom--but Nancy mentioned that, as people in a helping profession, we're going to measure our success by our clients' success. This sparked a discussion of the meaning of success. 

Shannon mentioned we, as a culture, tend to see success in monumental terms, but in the social work profession it is vital to accept any tiny step forward as a success. Giving a personal example, Shannon is currently working with a woman in therapy who is chronically late among other things. So right now they are working on getting her to her appointments on time. They are not focusing on the rest of her life falling apart. One step at a time. One small step at a time. 

Though Shannon mentioned this need to redefine our vision of success for our field of practice, I think I need to bring this idea of success being a a small thing not necessarily a huge one into my everyday life and especially into my view of my personal successes and failures.

p.s. that picture is what came up when i googled success. presh, i know. 

Understanding things

I LOVE MARY. 

(Mary the Mother of Jesus) 

Though scripture does not tell us much about her, what it does tell us is pure and simple and what we can infer furthers that appearance. As I've matured in thought and faith, believing something solely because 'it's tradition' is no longer enough for me. Consequently, many questions have arisen in my mind about the mother of (arguably) the most influential figure in all of human history.


how do we know she was conceived without sin?
how do we know she died (okay, well, as a Catholic I believe she didn't die, she was assumed into heaven, but you know what I mean..."got to the end of her earthly life")sinless?
how can we call her the 'virgin' mary, the Bible isn't clear about her sexual history after Jesus' birth?

how do we know Mary was assumed into Heaven?

check out this article (click the work 'article') that explains where the Catholic belief in the assumption of Mary finds its roots.

No Greater Love

I've been thinking.

Why is love so important?

Of all the things in life, we mostly just want love.

Why?

What made us this way?

How about our Father?

The one who is Love itself.

The one who created us because he wanted something to love.

Not out of need,

but out of LOVE.

There is no love greater than doing for someone what you do not have to do, out of which you gain nothing. That is love. 

1.4

There were 43 teenagers entrusted to my general care and 12 that were specifically mine last week at SpringHill. I worked all last summer with middle schoolers so this was definitely different.

We always tell campers that we don't want camp to be a 1-week thing. We don't want to be known for creating a SpringHill high that eventually wears off.

No.

We want much more.

We want +1 experiences.

We motivate change.

As I was driving back to St. Louis last Sunday afternoon, I was talking on the phone with a friend and she asked how I was planning to use what I learned at camp. (What a strange question. Was I supposed to have learned something??? Uhhhh...) I told her I was still processing the week (and that was true, don't worry) so I wasn't exactly sure yet. 

I learned about community.

I know I've posted about this a few times but I say it once again, I learned that I need people. I'm a slow learner when it comes to these things, so God has to be super patient.

There was no one experience from the week that brought about this thought but rather the experience of the week. 

I came up to SpringHill without telling my friend Hayley who was working there this summer and feeling a really homesick (something I learned of after I agreed to come up, so the homesickness had nothing to do with my decision if you were wondering) and without telling Susie, a really good friend I worked with last summer who had returned for another summer of SpringHill Lovin'. I wanted to surprise them. I knew they'd have no idea and be caught totally off guard. 

I had campers who appreciated me for me and relaly respected me. I went to bed early on my night off and left a note taped to the cabin door that read "Dear Temple Dwellers: I'm sleeping. I love you but please be quiet. Love, Emily" Not only were these 12 teenage girls almost silent, they didn't even turn the lights on!

My small group wanted to know what I thought and how I came to think that and how they could share in the faith. My small group got really vulnerable early in the week and bonded in a way I hadn't expected. 

These were all experiences I had with people. Without others, none of these things could've happened. 

I'm learning I don't need to rely so much on being self-sufficient. It's okay to need help. It's okay to not be 114% totally on top of things all the time. 

God gave us people.

the girls of "The Temple" (I couldn't pronounce the name of our cabin, so we renamed it. It makes sense to us, I promise)