Parchment Paths

As a continuation of yesterday's post. I think my need for change stemmed from an even deeper need to trust God on a deeper level. I needed to be put in unfamiliar territory in order for that to happen. I've always wanted to know every step of the ladder, where it is, what it's like, how hard it will be to mount. Now, things are a bit up in the air. I really do not know what I want to do with my life, but thats' OK because God has a plan and it's going to be great. I need to learn how to not jsut endure but to enjoy the discovery process.

I quit my job of many, many years recently.  Some of my reasons were due to problems I was having with the ill management of the place, some of it was a desire to learn new skills. The main reason, I am discovering, was to make a change. I desperately need change in my life and I am glad God gave me the courage to make one. Yes, the new job does not pay as much, yes, it does not offer the benefits of my old job, BUT it is different and that is what I need.

With so many technological advances it seems like some people are content to simply enjoy what others have created. People play games and watch movies on their phones, even when there out in public and can be getting to know people or enjoying their surroundings. It's not that I don't enjoy playing my Nintendo DS, or watching Law and Order SVU marathons, or even that I don't acknowledge the spring board computers and apps can be to creativity. It was just nice to see a girl a bit younger then myself, sitting at Barnes and Noble, listening to her iPod and knitting away with bright, strawberry red yarn.

Earlier this week I spent some time with my Aunt Donna in the southern part of Pennsylvania. One of the places we went to was a tea and gift shop called Tickle Your Fancy in McConnellsburg. It's a quaint, historical town with a variety of shop along the main street, but we spent most of our time at Tickle Your Fancy. My aunt had driven past the shop but had never gone in before. Her curiosity piqued, she suggested we investigate. From the moment we walked in the owner, greeted us warmly, asking us if we'd like some tea. Technically it's a gift shop, but she offers tea tasting and biscuits, as well as sells loose leaf tea and tea sets. What made the experience so special was that she explained about the proper methods of preparing and serving tea and explained the unique properties of each tea she served us, Earl Grey, Casablanca Twist Mint, and Raspberry Nectar. She politely inquired where we were from and how we found her and seemed to personally know everyone who enter...

It seems to me that the vast majority of people do not know how to accept no as a viable answer. I understand of course that "no" if often used a lazy excuse, but sometimes "no" is a valid responce. "No, you cannot eat all the cupcakes." "No, we are all sold out." Yet people don't like to hear no. I work at a large retail store and even when I know with 100% accuracy that we are sold out of an item, customers do not like to believe me; they insist I check again or call management. Why would I lie? Sometimes, the answer is really, and truly, no. It might be a good idea to just deal with it and move on.

Sometimes when I feel completely unmotivated to do a certain task, I wonder if it's state I need to overcome of it's God's way of saying I need to either wait on that task or maybe not do it at all.

My dad's been watching through a DVD he requested for Christmas, a 1960's TV show called The Prisoner, where a man is sent to a village where he is told he must conform to their standards or face dire consequences which usual end up being physiological. It got my father and I talking about how conformity is always viewed as a bad thing. Clearly if it's done to dumb down people to make them more manageable , like in The Prisoner, conformity is wrong. If one conforms just to be comfortable and spared from making decisions then yes it's wrong. But if one conforms to a good thing, like obeying laws they morally agree with or as a Christan, to the Lord then conformity it not just good but expected. Like many things, the question is balance conform when it is needed, but pray for the wisdom to know when you need to rebel against comfomrity.