Life at Malibu is fast. The only time it slows down is on my day off. I get one day off a week and it is on day 4. This means that I get a day off on the fourth day of camping a week. It is a different day of the week every time. This week it is Sunday, but last week it was Monday, and next week it will be Saturday. I am so excited because my parents are coming up here in about a week, and it will be really good to see them again. I have seen them more in the last few months than I have in the past few years. Between graduation and Malibu I will have seen Mom three time and my Dad two times since late April. I am excited for Mom to be up here without kids to lead. It will be nice for her to just enjoy Malibu for once. Dad hasn't ever been here before, and it will be really great to see what Mom and I have been involved in for so many years. I think that I will have him work with me for at least one day. It will be really cool show him the things that I do from day to day. Dad and I didn't really have a good relationship when I was a kid, and I am excited now when I get a chance to be with him. It is different now because we are both adults and we have a lot of the same interests. It is cool because I know things that he doesn't know and he knows things that I don't know, so we share a lot of that knowledge with each other. In the fall we are going hunting together. I don't have a tag, but I will still go and camp with him for a while. He will probably go for about a three weeks, but I might just camp for a week or so. I am excited to just spend some time with him. Now that I am out of collage, I don't know how often I will be able to spend with my parents. I would love to make that a priority.
Speaking of family and being able to visit with them, I have been thinking of that for a while. Being up here I have seen a different way of living life. I have seen more of a Kingdom-like way of life. I have just noticed that the pace of life is a lot different up here. More healthy. We all work hard and get A LOT of work done, but it is not killing any of us. Is it possible that we do not have to work the way that we do as an American culture? It might be possible that we can have more healthy communities and families if we work hard, but less. I think it might have something to do with our false need to have more more more. What if I just worked for what I need to live, and then just kept that up? I have grown up in a culture in which that is a scary thought. Not only would I have to live within my means, but my means would have to be only what I need, and not what I want. Or what the market tells me I want. So if I work less and live a more care free life, then wouldn't I have more time for important things such as family? My relationships would be more healthy, and I could take the time to focus on the important things. I have a friend who had worked hard all of his life and has done very well in a worldly sense. He is a good father and husband, and he loves God. The thing that stands out to me the most about this man, is he works hard when he does work, but his work is not his priority compared to God and family. All of this makes him seem very relaxed and loving. A slow start in the morning, a long lunch break, and quiting early with the same amount of work accomplished. I guess what I am talking about here is work ethic. Has my generation lost that ideal? Hard work when work is done. Why not enjoy everyday of your life, rather than losing most of your life to working so that you can then retire and be bored. Right now at least, I am going to live my retirement every day in little segments. Minuets at a time.
I don't want it to seem like my life up here is easy. I work hard and sweat every day. There are frustrating moments when things go wrong. God has been challenging me a lot. There are a few staff members for this session and the whole summer that I have to pray for patience with. That is a hard one for me. We are also trying to change the way I view women. I see women in a very sexual way, rather than in a healthy, respectful way. I noticed that I tend to gravitate to women that I find more attractive, and try and be friends with them before I try and become friends with someone I don't find attractive. I know that this is very shallow, but I am being honest, and I am trying to change. It is frustrating to know this about myself, but I know God will help me through this. I guess another phrase for this is “objectifying women.” I don't want to be that guy, and I am sure God doesn't want that for me either.
This job came at the right time in my life. I love it up here, but I don't think that God brought me up here because he thought that I would like it. I think God brought me here so I could heal and learn. Praise the lord for that. My hope is that I can be open to both. You can pray for me in that.
It is now time for me to get out and enjoy my day off.
Blessings
