The homeless kitten and other musings....

So a while back, a 6-week old kitten showed up at work. I said that Katie and I would take it while they were finding it a permanent home (it has since found one). We ended up having it for about 5 days and after that 5 days, I realized that having a kitten is a little bit like having a baby and that I really did not want to own a kitten for a long time, if ever.

The kitten was very cute but it kept me up all night, made several messes (it wasn't quite potty-trained), and cost money. I realized today, when another stray cat followed me home (it's not my fault...animals just gravitate towards me), that this whole stray animal thing is symbolic. It is a symbol for my relationship with the participants at work and the importance of setting boundaries.

I took the kitten home because I felt sorry for it and wanted to help it. But then today, another cat showed up and I realized that I just could not go through the same thing with this cat too. I guess there will always be stray cats, just like there will always be people who are homeless, and there will be people who choose to stay stuck in that even though we try to help. And it is not up to me to save them or the stray cats.

We were talking about this a little bit at church on Sunday. Robb- who is our nurse practitioner at the Campus- talked a little bit about how he realized that he couldn't save everyone and that it wasn't his responsibility. This was a good reminder for me. Maybe it's the perfectionist in me, but I want to solve all the problems and help everyone...I want to make the world a better place.
I guess that's why it's so crucial to realize that God is the one who ultimates decides what happens, but how that is also not an excuse to sit back and do nothing.

It is definitely a fine line and I think it is going to be one that I'm really going to have to learn this year. I've been thinking about how change doesn't have to huge to be valuable and that even small steps in the right direction are crucial and need to be appreciated/celebrated. That is something I need to think about in my year working at the Campus and also my own life.

Let's see....prayer requests include: not getting sick again (especially as we are starting up our even-more-hectic winter shelter program at work), preparation for recruitment I'm going to do at Elon next weekend, and Katie and I could continue to build community and grow our relationship.

I am going to visit Vanderbilt Divinity School tomorrow (complete with coffee hour, lunch with a student and sitting in on a class). I'm really excited, but please pray for clarity about whether this is where I'm being called for next year.


Thanks!!!