The Internlog
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Internlog Entry
"The Trees Are Full of Saaaap"
Hello all!
Following on from Timmy D’s report, I too want to encourage a shift in our perspectives – for myself just as much as anyone else as it’s so easy to forget our purpose...
Our interactive Church history lessons with Melody Briggs have been an all-senses and influential learning experience. Last week we spent the first half an hour of a teaching session in the Appleby Rooms building, (cleverly disguised as an Eastern Orthodox Church) experiencing Eastern Orthodox worship. It appealed to all our senses: icons and candles appealed to our sight, heavy incense appealed to our noses (and somewhat to our heads...), traditional Greek food appealed to our taste buds and holding candles appealed to our touch. Elena and Tim D requested our attention with our ears as they performed a version of Psalm 92 in an Eastern Orthodox Style. Unfortunately, I got the giggles when Elena sang the line “the trees are full of sap” (Elena pronounced it saaaaaap), but on later reflection – as this stuck in my memory – I have decided it is profound enough to base this week’s internlog on...
I suppose we are fairly old in 'internship years' now – we are currently over 2/3rds of our lives as an intern (which makes us roughly 60 years old, in internship age).
Psalm 92 has something to say about old age...
'The righteous flourish like the palm tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; the flourish in the courts of our God. In old age they still produce fruit; they are always green and full of sap, showing that the LORD is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.'
At the moment, it’s easy for us to lose our focus as there are so many things happening. The past week has been full of a melange of events – of lost phones and broken down cars, buying houses and finding jobs, visits from old friends, but also some dreadful news that in the church in Angers in France, one of our friends lost her Dad in a brutal accident this past week. Our normal patterns of life have also been ruffled the past fortnight because of bank holidays and student leaders retreats - highlighting to us all what creatures of habit and routine we actually love to be.
In addition, coming up this week, some of us have been starting some new placements in schools and elsewhere, a small Alpha course starts this Thursday, June Project mission plans are slowly forming to something cohesive and all our usual activities continue as normal.
In the midst of all the business, I find it easy to lose the call from Jesus to 'Abide in me as I abide in you' and to remain 'planted in the LORD and to flourish in the courts of our God.'
As we get older as interns, familiar with our routines, I hope and pray that we still produce fruit in all the things we do, that we still are green and "full of saaaaap" and that the LORD is our rock.
I am glad to say I have learnt something from Psalm 92 about perseverance, perspective and old age and I’m grateful for the amusing way in which it was sang as this has resounded in my memory!
With love,
Robyn
p.s. – I do not mean to suggest that 60 years old is definitely decided upon as 'old age'...