Comfortable - October 25th

It's been awhile since I wrote my last blog. I've changed. I'm a new man.

Well....not really. I've just been busy. I've become comfortable.

Now I know that sounds really negative, like I've given in to lethargy and let myself become complacent in my time here. And it is, somewhat. The romance of being here has sort of faded, my connection to the States has dwindled, and I'm kind of just soaring on the breeze. But at the same time, I'm becoming more confident in myself and realizing that being in England is really not all that different than the States. The people here are basically the same, minus a few cultural facets.

One of those is seeing how people seem to care about one another. In the States, the attitude seemed to be “take care of yourself first” and the rest will work itself out. This mentality is great for having healthy boundaries with others and not letting them take advantage of you, but it's really bad if you're trying to build a society that can take care of itself morally and police itself. I've been talking to a friend about how America, in comparison to the UK, is a police state. Police here are just much less powerful and terrifying, and I feel like that is party because of the culture policing itself better and people being more others-focused and society-focused. And of course it's not perfect, police are still needed, but they aren't really needed as much as the States. People are much more polite and selfless in general, which I love.

As far as my journey goes, I still haven't moved down to Oxford yet. I know it's something I want to do, but I haven't felt any doors open to that or any opportunities open up. Meanwhile, I've received job offer after job offer here in the Leeds/Halifax area, where I get to be with my family for the time being. I just finished working a temporary job at a local Cafe charity, which allowed me to get to know people in the community. I'm now trying to decide if I want to take one of two jobs – either in Halifax at a bank call centre, or Leeds at a call centre for the same bank, only through a third party company. The Leeds job pays more, but it's an evening job that will be difficult to commute to without a car, so I'd probably have to move closer to the city centre if I'm to work there.

Decisions, decisions. Meanwhile, I feel like I'm getting the hang of living in the UK. I've made some friends (thank God), but mostly I'm still hanging out with family, which has been really rewarding as we walk along the winding path of cancer treatment and pain management for Uncle Phil.

I know God is doing something there, and he is using me to do it. It's been really affirming to see Phil's pain leave when we pray for him, and it really reaffirms that I “still got it”, spiritually speaking (either that or God is just working in spite of me, which is probably what he does anyway). Next step is to see him fully healed, which I pray for in full faith as often as I can.

Otherwise I'm loving having the free time to pour myself into my writing. One symptom of living a busy lifestyle full of distractions (as I did in the States) is that writing required more discipline. Here, that's not the case. Writing comes very easily because I have nothing better to do. I wish I knew before how much life it gave me - I would have done it more often. But alas, I thought playing video games and partying was more satisfying. Oh, how wrong I was.

Jesus, you're so good. I'm so grateful for the life you've placed in front of me. I pray that I wouldn't get complacent, and that I can go to you for direction, for enjoyment, and for simple connection as often as you draw me in. I pray that my familiar temptations would be lessened, and I would be focused on being there for my family. I'm excited for what's next!

Song of the day: