A Not Untypical Day

The day draws to a close. Georgette has prepared and set our dinner: goat, roasted potatoes, cauliflower, and a tomato and onion salad. An afternoon rain has washed the air, and the evening is cool.

As I look back on the day I wonder what I accomplished. The documents that need drafting remain tasks on a list. The documents that need review and revision wait their turn. Yet, the day feels full and I am tired.

The morning began with an unplanned skirmish with our cats. Frieda and Midogo (“Little one”) apply their scavenge tactics outside and inside the house. We keep the bread in a metal casserole dish, put avocadoes in sealed containers, weigh down the lids of serving dishes with plates, and generally try to keep the cats out of the living/dining room area. But they are persistent critters.

This morning, when I got up at 5:00 to start hot water and claim some quiet time, the cats stole into the dining room, jumped onto the table, and managed to push off the lid protecting a few pieces of meat from last night’s supper. I shushed them out, set myself up on the porch to read only to be startled by clanging in the dining room. Somehow the cats had managed to push the door open and jump back onto the table. A battle of wills and tactics ensued for the next 20 minutes until I won. Or did I? It was time to get ready for a 6:15am Swahili lesson.

Yes, Swahili began this morning. Monday and Thursday morning, 6:15-7:15. French is Wednesday and Saturday, 8:00-10:00. Swahili lesson concluded, and the UCBC faculty van arrived to take us to school.

Once on campus there were greetings, turning on the computer, and setting up for the day. Currently we have power and Internet on campus for only 2-3 hours/day. Until the power turned on, I ticked off tasks on the list, queued up emails in my Outbox. Musafiri, the Service Learning Coordinator, and I had planned to meet at 10 and begin working through documents. Power and password problems on the laptop that is storing those documents thwarted plans, however. When the power came on at 10:15, emails loaded up in my laptop, and I scrambled through another round of communications until I joined a colleague for a meeting at 11:30. Chapel followed, noon-1:00, then it was lunchtime. Another meeting convened from 2:00-3:00, after which I headed for home and an hour of studying French.

Did I accomplish anything substantial? I don’t think so. After the early morning cat wrangle, I did turn the day over to God and asked that God use the day and me. I don’t know how or if that prayer was answered. There were no powerful interactions or profound conversations.  I don’t know that I made anyone’s day any brighter. Probably not. I was more concerned with trying to “do” what was on my “list.” I only hope that I did not stand in someone’s way, frustrate a colleague, ignore a student, succumb to selfishness, or give in to pride.

Hmmm… to be honest, I did capitulate to selfishness and pride. No one else would know that pride and selfishness rented a small room in my heart today. But I know.

For good reason, the Confession of Sin opens the Order for Compline, the daily service of evening prayer. So I offer it up, even now, as I review the day:

Almighty God, our heavenly Father: We have sinned against you, through our own fault, in thought, and word, and deed, and in what we have left undone.For the sake of your Son our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive us all our offenses; and grant that we may serve you in newness of life, to the glory of your Name. Amen.