Halfway Through

Well, actually I am almost seven months through! I can't believe how quickly the time has gone and feel so blessed to have had this experience. I look forward to what the last half of internship will bring.

At the moment, we are finishing up mid-year evaluations. These are nine-page evaluations that are written by myself, the pastors, and my internship committee. So far, the pastors and I have finished our evaluations and they look pretty good. We are on the same page and anything I need to work on is fairly minor, such as chanting and learning different styles of preparing a sermon. I look forward to Monday when I hear what the committee has to say.

In the church world, we are nearing Holy week. If I am to be completely honest with myself, I am totally exhausted. Sadly enough, today the craziness of Lent hit and I took a really long afternoon nap. This exhaustion was evidenced when yesterday I took a real, full day off and had a couple friends from seminary over (in pic above). We had a great time, but I found it very hard to relax. I have been go go go for so long, that to actually take time away from the normal busyness felt abnormal. This, to me, was a sign that I need to start making self-care a real priority. I always talk about how important it is to take care of yourself, but rarely take my own advice to heart. A lady at the church gave me a pass to the YMCA, and I think it is time to use it. I also think it is time for me to start setting aside time each week just to go out and do the things I love, like taking a drive to nowhere or going to the movies.

My being tired concerns me most because of the upcoming month long "mini-sabbatical" the pastors are taking right after Easter. I feel so completely competent to handle things while they are gone, but am worried I will already be tired going into it. Thankfully, the last time they were gone things seemed to be calmer than when they were here. If this is the case at least the first week they are gone, I think I will be good. Plus, if I get a day or two to just rest before, maybe that is all I need.

I think the real issue is I just hit a wall today. The last couple of weeks have been so busy I haven't had the time nor the energy to even talk to family and friends. Some were so concerned they called a ton just to find out if I was okay. For those who know me well know this is completely out of character. Normally i'm always on the phone. I think with the nap I took today and a quiet night at home tonight, I should be back to my normal, busy, happy self. Sleep and movies...there is no better therapy! :) Thank you, as always, for checking in and especially for your prayers.