Unintentional Epiphany

When we tried to schedule a staff lunch to undecorate the library, many people had plans to be on the road or away for one reason or another during that last week before the library closed. In past years, we had just gone ahead with whomever was around since the purpose was less about eating and more about packing away the holiday decor. But this year, there was a feeling that we should wait on the meal part until everyone could come.

We tried moving it to the week before the undecorating, but our schedules did not coincide. So we moved it to the first week everyone returned. Today! We gathered in the break room around steaming crockpots of soup and three bean chili. The vibrant greens and reds of a gleaming tossed salad invited us to jump in. There were cheeses and crackers, cookies and brownies, and all varieties of cranberry juices.

It was just the thing to hold us in comfortable fellowship for an hour while we chatted about the destruction of Mercereau Hall which was happening as we munched, about Christmas encounters, about family, about the nativity inaccuracies (what day was Jesus really born and how old was he when the wisemen came?), about the upcoming semester.

It wasn't until after we broke up and headed back to our offices that Linda pointed out how appropriate our gathering was - since today is the Feast of the Epiphany, it seemed fortuitous that we had gathered for a feast and talked about the wisemen! Not planned, but perfect. I wonder if the wisemen ever enjoyed great chili with cheese melting all down over it?

Retreat

Three times a year, the Public Services staff takes time to remove ourselves from the hectic and demanding pace of the library, to come aside far from the circ desk, and take a look back at what the last semester was like, a look ahead at how to best prepare for the upcoming semester. Its helpful to get your head up out of the sand and make sure everything is on track.

We meet at the library, bundle into my car and head for the east side of the city, taking three expressways to get to the Meridian Center, a complex where Roberts rents space for evening classes to meet. They have a nice suite with a kitchen and two large classrooms with internet and projection capability where we can easily get to our online documents.

The rooms are too big for the few of us, but we cozy up and begin, first with a devotional to focus on God's sovereignty, then a time of sussing out why we are all so weary. What is causing us to be heavy and how do we fix that? It is a long discussion, touching on many factors. Some of them an easy fix, others more complicated, a few that will require intervention from those above us, ones that will take time and prayer.

We look at how we are being transformed by change from one model of functionality to another, how some are transitioning easily, others dragging their feet and fighting all the way. We consider how other parts of campus interact with us, how they perceive our change. We wrestle with how to do the same work with fewer people, where are the pressure release valves. It is a long and much needed conversation. we put all the issues on the table and get everything out in the open in an honest way.

Then we go back and discuss solutions to each aspect. How do we make it better? How do we encourage others to move forward? How do we tactfully but firmly insist on assistance? Who can we enlist on our behalf? There are solutions, but we will see if they work. It sounds good on paper, but will it work?

Our heavy work completed, we move on to happier things, the lasagna dinner we will hold for our student workers, the end of year graduation dinner for students who will be leaving us. And then lunch arrives. We have promised ourselves to take full advantage of our built in break times and not multitask. It is tempting to continue discussions while munching, but we resist. Lunch is lunch, a break, a time to rest and regenerate. Let your brains idle a bit.

The morning has flown by. This has been a different sort of retreat, but a necessary piece for moving forward. We pack up our things and head back. I am hopeful that the semester will bring a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction rather than weariness and overwhelmedness. My resolve? Pray more. Be involved more in each area. Be available. Then leave the rest up to the good Lord.

We're Back

Everyone safely returned from their travels and holiday visitings. We are all back in our offices and at our desks, preparing for the return of undergrad students, getting our desk schedules set, marking our calendars, booking library instruction classes, setting out new books, making sure everything is working properly. It is good to have this week of preparation before we jump into the busyness of the semester.

It feels awkward, returning to regularly scheduled activities, akin to going to the gym after laying around doing nothing for weeks. Muscles that have done nothing are now asked to work and work hard. It makes you tired in a healthy way. Good thing we have some time before it gets really hopping around here. Time for the stiffness to dissipate and time for us to get used to high levels of activity once again.

Rest is good, routine is helpful, being fit and capable the best.