Field Notes #24: Flashlights, Group Reflection, Green Space Monkeys and Authority

"Though by the path he leadeth,
But one step I may see."

I had never really paid attention to those two short lines (from "His Eye Is On the Sparrow," lyrics by Civilla Martin) until last night when we sang them at choir practice. I journalled about it last night. The image of following God being like driving a car through pitch black darkness and only seeing the road directly in front of you where the headlights shine--that has been helpful to me as I've sought to follow God, not knowing really where I'm going. Of course, often I feel like all I have is a flashlight or even just a cell phone to light the way, but I have to remember Jeremiah 29:11--"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope." I may not know where I'm going, but God does, and I have to trust and rest in that.

Yesterday we had our group reflection meeting with those of us doing field ed in the general vicinity of Charlotte (ish). It was cool to see some of my friends again, to get to know some pre-enrollment students, and to hear about other people's field ed experiences so far. Plus we started off with worship led by half the group, which was very cool. Also, one of my friends is placed at my dad's church, so it was neat to hear about her experience there.

Yesterday we got a bunch of decorations and props for VBS from my old home, Davidson UMC. We are SO thankful that they were willing to share--we have moon rocks, a mission control station, loads of inflatable space shuttles, several sets of planets (I didn't check to see if Pluto got included), great backdrops for storytelling, a green space monkey, and more. We're also working on integrating the science unit into our schedule--the curriculum has all these cool demonstrations that fit in with the Bible stories for each day, and we have a number of scientifically-minded folks in the church who will have a lot of fun with that. People are excited about VBS and eager to help, which is so great. I'm looking forward to it.

I'm off to do some reading--Val gave me Jackson Carroll's book As One With Authority: Reflective Leadership in Ministry (look for it in my "What I'm Reading" blog series soon) and bookmarked a few chapters of particular interest for me to read and for us to talk about. I'm realizing that although I've always wishes people would respect me and get past the fact that I'm short, blonde and look like I'm 14, I sometimes rely on and feed into that because I'm actually uncomfortable with authority. I pull a Jeremiah pretty regularly--"Truly I do not know how to speak, for I am only a boy" (Jer. 1:6). But even though I'm "just an intern," I do have authority, and even though I sometimes don't want to think about it, it's something that's really important for me to begin to get my head around, something about which I need to be intentional.