Ready, Set, Rest!

Happy Spring! Well, at least it is here in California. Though we are still in drought, there has been a recent dumping of rain to join our mostly warm weather leading to lovely green fields and lush trees and flowers. I"m so loving this sunny weather, but I don't plan to be around for the consequences of an early spring with hardly any winter.....a summer with a lot of fires.

In my last posting I let you all know officially know about the completion of my two programs and degrees. I"m so thankful to be done and to have time with my family before transitioning into...(que the dramatic music).....professional life!

In my time since Christmas I've been able to 'do' much. Unpack my loaded car, clean my room- which has been the dumping zone during my transitions for the last 10 years (yes 10 years- I was opening mail from years ago), cleaning/ reinstalling the operating system of my mal-functioning computer, meeting with friends in the area, dealing with insurance, credit cards, dentist and doctor visits, time to study French, and on and on it goes. Basically all the stuff that sits around needing to be done, but you use the excuse 'when I have time, I'll do it'. Well, I'm here to tell you, it is not that much fun to do when you do have time, but I'm trying to be thankful for the restbit anyway.

Above all, I recognize that this is a time unlike any other I"m likely to have, possibly ever. A time when I feel content in where the Lord has me to simply 'rest'. I am in a continual process of discovering what that actually even means. It is not as simple as coming home at the end of a long day or week to 'rest' for the evening or weekend. It is something much deeper and demanding.

Resting, in our society is not generally viewed as a big character building exercise. It is something that people are usually hoping for, and looking forward to, but then once people have their 'rest' or vacation or whatever they are wishing for, they often come back to ‘everyday’ life needing a rest from their rest. Does this sound familiar? Most of us are not good at sitting still, except perhaps when we reach retirement, and even then you hear about how people struggle enjoying this ‘rest time’.

The ability to engage with another human-being without a schedule and constant glances at our watches and/or interruptions from our phones is rare indeed. Can you think of the last time you did that?

The other day, as I was literally putting the suitcase lock on my bag to put in the car and drive to the airport with my dad to fly to Texas, we had a neighbor stop by the house. He had come only because he wanted to share some movies that he had burned on DVDs for me, on a subject he thought that I would be interested in based on a previous discussion. He held me at the front door for 15-20mins telling me all the details - names and places of the 2 DVDs he'd just given me, with seemingly no awareness that I was standing with wet hair and a luggage lock in my hand and half put on shoes on my feet. As I stood there listening (but not really hearing) my first thought was how rude this seemed to me and that he had no idea of his poor timing. My next thought was, perhaps I need to be more like that ....to have my focus on engaging with the person and sharing life together without being driven - no, without being controlled by the clock!!!

I'm the first to admit that our Western world is driven by schedules and planning, and to be honest I enjoy it to a degree and find it very beneficial in many ways. But I also know that I want to be a person living on Christ's timeline to serve other people, and that OFTEN will not be MY timeline.

This 3+ month long 'rest' that I am enjoying has had its challenges, the greatest of which have been building relationships and adapting to others' timing, both my family, friends, and Christ's timing. If I want to live my own life apart from others, I can control every second of my life, but if I want to live a life of relationship, character growth, heart change, service, and joy in all circumstances, then I must adapt my life pace to that of those around me and most importantly to that of Christ who sees all and knows all and will not waste my time the time He has allowed me.

To everything there is  a season, and this may not be your season to rest, but still it is worth taking time to recognize what season you are in and enjoy that for all it is worth. We don't know what will come tomorrow, but we know what is here today - enjoy it. There must be rain to bring spring and there must be a hot summer to dry the leaves for a cool fall.

Love well, lean on others, have fun, choose to be joyful.

Be blessed whatever your season might be,

Jessica

P.S. I still struggle to sit and read a book for hours- even one I've been wanting to read for years. To those who can do this in peace and tranquility, you are blessed - never lose that skill and practice it often.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-11

Common English Bible

There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens:2     

a time for giving birth and a time for dying,

a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,3     

a time for killing and a time for healing,

a time for tearing down and a time for building up,4     a time for crying and a time for laughing,

a time for mourning and a time for dancing,5     

a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones,

a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,6     

a time for searching and a time for losing,

a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,7     

a time for tearing and a time for repairing,

a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,8     

a time for loving and a time for hating,

a time for war and a time for peace.

What do workers gain from all their hard work? 10 I have observed the task that God has given human beings. 11 God has made everything fitting in its time, but has also placed eternity in their hearts, without enabling them to discover what God has done from beginning to end.

[Thank you Gateway Bible]

GRADUATION ANNOUNCEMENT

This is my official graduation announcement:

Jessica Mullins has officially completed her 

Master of International Development 

Major: NGO and Civil Society 

& 

Master of Business Administration

Focus: International Organizations

So in spite of all the costs incurred at two different institutions of higher learning on two different continents, I did not get any real graduation celebration. Boo, hoo. Thus, I have decided to make my own.

This my friends, is how economical I am in sending out graduation announcements. Personalize the sample they send me and then take a picture of it !!!


Reflections of a Graduated Graduate Student...

As you grow, you think you know

You look ahead with enough anticipation to jump out of bed. 

There are always nah sayers, and lazy players, 

But growing up I started to push away the fluff and learned to be tough. 

School could be fun and easy, but that never seemed to be for me. 

I worked hard and played hard. 

But praying hard was always the key. 

Passing through undergrad, international work, and then grad school was in the cards. 

My passions became more focused and I began to see what I could be. 

Pittsburgh, Geneva....Switzerland that is

New homes, new friends, new churches, new studies...

Changing locations and degrees, intentionality and logistics were my biz. 

The winters were cold, but skiing was grand, and down jackets became my best buddies. 

I studied hard, and listened well, loving all the new info, true it tis. 

My final semester came at last, my classmates had finished their single degree in the past. 

They had their spring of big gowns and square hats, I went on to finish mid-year in just my low flats.

One degree, two degree, three, I thought someone said they'd become free. 

I'm so glad to have finished my MID & my IOMBA, you don't know what those are you say? 

No problem, as long as the HR managers answer my groans, I'll be able to pay my loans.

Here's to education, both in and out of the classroom, may we one day be free from all the bad legislation, to learn and to grow daily and never stop using our imagination. 

And thus concludes my formal announcement to you special people. Feel free to respond with all manner of gifts and checks and exciting encouraging notes. You will be honored with a non-electronic 'thank-you'. Just kidding about the gifts!---(kinda)

From my free wings to yours!

Jessica

Starting 2014 off Right...

Happy New Year!

There - I said it...Now let's get this year going.

Personally, 2014 holds great promise as I transition from academics into my professional life. It has been a long time in coming, but I"m rather excited. As I look forward, it is easy to forget all that has gone on in 2013. As so many of you, I'd like to take the time to look back on all the Lord has blessed me with in the past year.

I was able to have my parents, grandparents, and brother and sister-n-law come and visit me in Switzerland. I got to spend time traveling with them and on my own. I was able to visit several new countries and return to previously visited ones. I was blessed with two internships while in Geneva and an amazing church community that contributed to my French skills and to my missing Geneva now that I"m gone. I moved back to Pennsylvania in September and then back to California via an 8 day solo drive across the country 2 days after I took my last final exam. I'm so thankful to now be in a rest period as I move toward a full time position with a relief or development organization, now that I have finally completed all my work for my Masters of Business Administration and my Masters of International Development.

But this year has  not been all fun and games. Getting through the work was more than a struggle at times, and my internships both had their times of trial. I can easily say that returning to Pennsylvania a week late for classes with no place to live, no car, an unset course schedule, and the expectation I would move my things from storage exactly 4 days after I landed, was one of the most stressful weeks of my life. (Yes, even more than finals weeks, moving abroad, etc.)

Anyway, enough of my year in review. To be honest, ringing in the New Year has never been a major event in my life. No big traditions and few parties. While I'm thankful for the turning of another year and the anticipation of all God will do with it, I find I'm much more thankful that I have a million more opportunities to make changes during any minute throughout the year. I find it entertaining, and slightly sad at times the way many people depend on the New Year to set new goals, higher standards (or lower) for themselves, change a behavior, build a relationship, etc.....what if we were doing that all year long?

I'm not trying to put down New Year's resolutions, I just find that I can never get into them because I find it is not about 'changing myself in the new year' it is about working on my attitude and heart issues long before and after the clock strikes midnight on December 31st.

I pray that this year will not be filled with unreasonable expectations, guilt, and doing things because we feel we are supposed to do them, rather, that our lives and hearts will be filled with grace at our own and others' mistakes, encouragement to challenge ourselves to do new things and grow from old way, fresh perspectives on the lives of people who are different than ourselves, and a passion for the path the Lord lays at our feet.

I do wish each of you a day and a week and a year filled with the Lord's blessings and wisdom and an ever growing heart with which to recognize and accept those blessings.

I'd be thrilled to hear highlights from your year and or set up a skype / coffee to catch up more now that I have a little time off. :)

Until Next time,
Jessica