What is a "practical", you say? Well, as long as I've been a Christian, I hear our preachers talking about making the Word of God practical. They use this extremely important tool in sermons, because we can always use examples of HOW things work and not just listen to nice stories out of the Bible. That means essentially, "How does that look in someone's life?" or "How do I do that?".
Well, I had a great one this week, and just like every exceptional moment in one's life, it was just another ordinary day. So I had gone for a long walk to find a gym, which I didn't find.... (story of my life in Berlin, right? LOL) Anyway, so it was Wednesday, and I was moving pretty slow, but I was walking and finally stopped to wait for a bus. I sat down in the warmness of the sun and was just waiting for the bus to arrive. The sun felt great since I had been sick for the past 6 days, so I was really enjoying it.
As I looked up at one point, there was this lady riding her bike with a small dog in the basket on the front. The dog was looking forward, then around, then at it's mother. It was almost like it was saying to her "Where are we, and where are we going, Mom"? But since she was busy riding, the dog just sort of chilled out and looked like it just decided to enjoy the ride. Yes, I witnessed all of this in the few seconds they were within my view. Amazingly.
Because I had been sick, that I had a lot of "work" to do to market myself for a job, and that I hadn't gotten anything done this week, I was feeling stressed. I was feeling like "God, I don't have time for this! Got a cold, got a little better, then got sick again. Then later that very day, I got sick a 3rd time in a week with a stomach bug of some sort!!! This was clearly not in the plan.... LOL
I love dogs. Always have. Even as early as 5, I can remember having a dog. Dogs are amazing creatures. They are fun, silly, cute, sweet, smart and very needy. Needy is okay, but you know, you have to feed them, give them water and take them for walks, play with them, snuggle with them, etc. Well, one thing I learned from having my dog Wolfi, was that most days, he just wanted to sit at my feet. At the end of the day, he just wanted to be near his dad. That's all he wanted and he was happy.
What I took away from the dog in the bike basket is that the little dog really didn't know where they were going, what would happen when they got there or how long of a ride it would be. I realized that I was really that little dog. Looking around, not knowing where I'm going to end up, but that, like the dog, just to enjoy the ride, not worry about it and just be happy that I have such a reliable and faithful God in control of everything.
So, basically I have come to the conclusion that yes, in fact, I do need to really put myself out there this week to market myself to hotels, but also that I don't worry and that I really do try to enjoy this amazing place God has put me. I also need to feed the relationships he has blessed me with here, and to help out however I can. Again, this is that delicate balance I have been trying to achieve since I arrived here. This has given me a tremendous amount of peace, because once again, all these things were completely not with
in my realm of control. These are tests of my resolve to stay close to God and to completely trust him to bring me through.
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I'm very excited about next weekend because of a few things. First of all, I'm hoping to go on my first "Volkswanderung" in like 25 years. This is just an organized hike and when I was in high school, my dad and step-mom would go on them quite a lot and I got to go on a few, too. I believe that was the start of my love of hiking. So far, I think I have 3 people coming. Still have a number of people that haven't responded yet, so I'm sure there will be more than that. It's going to be in Spandau, which is just NW of Berlin.
Also next weekend, my good friend Ken is coming into town from Zürich, Switzerland. Ken and I know each other from Spokane, where I helped him learn German last year for a month or two. I was super jealous when he got a job in Switzerland, though, I have to be honest. So anyway, this will be my first visit from someone I know from the States. Ken and I became good friends during that time and we've been waiting to meet up since last year! Super excited about that!
Thirdly, I am so excited to see the European Soccer Finals (no, this is really Tim here, I promise!). My former hometown team, FC Bayern München, will be playing. I even bought a FCBM scarf this week that I plan to wear proudly at the showing of the game!
Well, that's it. That's it from the "basket dog", just waiting and watching AND enjoying! Until next time!
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