learning.

"What ever is good to know is hard to learn"

This is a quote that I found on a random coffee mug at Target as I made my way to "Teacher Camp." I have now had a few days to recover from camp and re-engage in reality and I think this particular quote is a bit of a metaphor for life right now. While I pride myself on being a "life-long learner", I feel now more than ever I am in the midst of an intense period learning and for sure it is hard. The lessons are unclear, not particularly easily resolved, and certainly not quick.

Learning about life, learning about love, learning about work, learning about friendship, learning about exercise, learning about change, learning about loss. And in the midst of it all, knowing that God is at the center. This is not to make God the scapegoat for anything negative; I'm not in a "blame God" phase of life. I am grateful to God for this learning. It doesn't mean I enjoy it, asked for it, want it, or don't constantly look for ways to "fix it". But in the end, I relinquish control of it and rather seek to find the learning in it all.

Sheryl (Crow that is...) expresses this well in two of the songs on her latest album, Detours. I can't remember if I have written this before, but I suggest "God Bless this Mess" and "Detours". They kind of speak to what I'm feeling and thinking about this whole "learning" thing.

I keep very busy. I sometimes think I stay busy to avoid embracing all that God has put before me. I desperately wish for retreat to quiet my mind and calm my soul. Though, I do fear what I may learn should I take them time to do so. Either way, God is in the center be it frenetic or placid. And God is always good.