It is just amazing how one thing can overwhelm your life. The sad part is that we do not really recognize it happening at the time. Once the situation settles out things become so much more clear.
That is what happened with me and work. Things have been really hectic but the dust is beginning to settle a bit. Maybe it was the start of the new year. Maybe it was a renewed positive attitude within my self. Maybe it was Amy's medical situations becoming less obtrusive in our lives. For whatever reason, life seems a bit less 'in your face' ...
It's like the first breath of cold, clear air on a winters morning. The stars seem a bit more sharp, clear and inviting.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
This Old House *
* Not the PBS program
After much delay and trying of patience, our office is expanding over into the other half of our building. Population-wise the office is the largest in the judicial district that we serve. As such the employees who work in our office have literally been on top of each other for quite a few months. Tempers have flared and patience has been tried during this time of having 9 people working in a space designed for lmuch ess than that number. While the officers have their own offices, the secretaries do not have their own defined work space.
Even while it has been cramped we have managaed to remain civil. Even on court dates when there are new intakes to do and alot of extra activity going on we have managed to remain above board and have managed a degree of decorum. I don't mean to make it sound as though we are at each other's throats, but it has been trying at times.
Moving to the other half of the building means we double our space. We have extra offices to move into and to utilize. The secretaries will be more on their own and will have extra room to spread out. We now have two bathrooms instead of one. We also have room for a waiting room in the office. Up until now defendants have had to sit on the front porch waiting to be called in for their appointments. Not really so bad unless the weather is extremely cold, really hot or rainy. Fortunately, we have not had to deal with snow. We will have extra rooms for meetings, informal hearings and to use for auditors and the likes.
So, with a fresh coat of paint and cleaning of the carpets we move in. It is amazing what improvements can be made with just a relatively simple outward change. However, what is important is the change from what was previously going on in that half of the building. Basically nothing! The juvenile offices were there but they were gone and out of the office more often than not. Their duties just did not require them to be in the office too often.
So often this is just like our lives. We make a change for ourselves in who we are and what we do. But is the change only cosmetic? A friend told me an old adage one time . . . Beauty is only skin deep but ugly goes all the way to the bone. So true.
When we make changes in who we appear to be it is so much easier to maintain tha change once we have incorporated the change into who we are and who we want to be. People can tell pretty quick if the change in our lives is real or if it is just a sham. What we do in our lives usually says more about us that we can sometimes describe. People ususally don't care how we look but more have we act and how we live. As does God. What we do in His name means more to others than words can express. A life lived in harmony with His Word is a life of fulfillment and service beyond anything we can do.
There is an old gospel song. I'm not sure of the title of the song but it speaks of a house being old, run down and tired. At first people try to perk it up with a fresh coat of paint and by cleaning the windows. But it is soon discovered that the house itself is empty and in need of someone to live in it. Our lives will be fuller if we allow the spirit of God to live in us and work within us to fulfill His will in our lives.
May we begin each day with the idea that we are the temple of God and that we go out into the world daily to seek and to serve and to fulfill.
After much delay and trying of patience, our office is expanding over into the other half of our building. Population-wise the office is the largest in the judicial district that we serve. As such the employees who work in our office have literally been on top of each other for quite a few months. Tempers have flared and patience has been tried during this time of having 9 people working in a space designed for lmuch ess than that number. While the officers have their own offices, the secretaries do not have their own defined work space.
Even while it has been cramped we have managaed to remain civil. Even on court dates when there are new intakes to do and alot of extra activity going on we have managed to remain above board and have managed a degree of decorum. I don't mean to make it sound as though we are at each other's throats, but it has been trying at times.
Moving to the other half of the building means we double our space. We have extra offices to move into and to utilize. The secretaries will be more on their own and will have extra room to spread out. We now have two bathrooms instead of one. We also have room for a waiting room in the office. Up until now defendants have had to sit on the front porch waiting to be called in for their appointments. Not really so bad unless the weather is extremely cold, really hot or rainy. Fortunately, we have not had to deal with snow. We will have extra rooms for meetings, informal hearings and to use for auditors and the likes.
So, with a fresh coat of paint and cleaning of the carpets we move in. It is amazing what improvements can be made with just a relatively simple outward change. However, what is important is the change from what was previously going on in that half of the building. Basically nothing! The juvenile offices were there but they were gone and out of the office more often than not. Their duties just did not require them to be in the office too often.
So often this is just like our lives. We make a change for ourselves in who we are and what we do. But is the change only cosmetic? A friend told me an old adage one time . . . Beauty is only skin deep but ugly goes all the way to the bone. So true.
When we make changes in who we appear to be it is so much easier to maintain tha change once we have incorporated the change into who we are and who we want to be. People can tell pretty quick if the change in our lives is real or if it is just a sham. What we do in our lives usually says more about us that we can sometimes describe. People ususally don't care how we look but more have we act and how we live. As does God. What we do in His name means more to others than words can express. A life lived in harmony with His Word is a life of fulfillment and service beyond anything we can do.
There is an old gospel song. I'm not sure of the title of the song but it speaks of a house being old, run down and tired. At first people try to perk it up with a fresh coat of paint and by cleaning the windows. But it is soon discovered that the house itself is empty and in need of someone to live in it. Our lives will be fuller if we allow the spirit of God to live in us and work within us to fulfill His will in our lives.
May we begin each day with the idea that we are the temple of God and that we go out into the world daily to seek and to serve and to fulfill.
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