Busy few days. The seminary lecture went well, I think. I was brought into the class in order to help stimulate some thinking in the students. I think we collectively did that. Some of the students had some sour looks on their faces by the end of my time with them, and some were nodding their heads. I guess that's what I'd consider a good result.

Still lots of work to do for this year's student ministry calendar, as well as planning for the things down the road. These are fun times, but I do feel as though I'm in a little over my head. Michelle encouraged me by telling me about a TV show she had been watching. It highlighted the story of a woman who had lost her eyesight as a child, but had boldly gone through life, and ultimately pursued and opened a school for blind children in Tibet. If you care to learn more, I found a quick profile here about this woman, Sabriye Tenberken. She and her husband developed a program called Braille Without Borders in Tibet and are now attempting to develop a second project in India.

I haven't spend more than a few minutes reading about her story and the amazing work she does. But when Michelle told me about her, it occurred to me that while she's done incredible things, by necessity, she's had to be somewhat reliant on others. She is very self sufficient, navigating the busy streets of Tibet alone (and teaching her students to do the same), but at some points, she just has to let others help her, if only in small ways. My immediate sense is that she has a richer life for it. If I am feeling overwhelmed by the vision that I've been given the opportunity to develop, it's my own fault, for feeling as though I have to do all, or even most of the work myself. I've always been weak in the area of delegation, which I'm more than willing to acknowledge, but I have thought of it as only having limited my productivity or my effectiveness in my work. But now I'm beginning to see that gaining the participation of others in what I do in life would do more than simply help me produce more/better work - it would make me a better man. The truth is that I can't do a heckuva lot on my own in life. Telling that truth to myself and the people around me by how I allow and invite others to be a part of who I am and what I do will bring a more connected quality to me. I know this is elementary stuff about building community, but for as much as I claim to value it, I fail to regularly practice it. There's a hidden spiritual discipline in this for me. I hope to uncover it.