Enjoy treasures - monthly review

One habit that strengthens my life is the first day of the month, when I take time to look back as well as plan and look forward to the new. June was a challenging month. There was the ship project and two big projects at the publishing house - each involving around 30 hours of work per week. That was challenging. When it comes to tasks and projects, I'm generally relatively relaxed and have learnt to do one thing at a time as best I can - and to accept what doesn't work.

What stresses me out far more is when there are crises with people in my immediate environment or when people close to me are in crisis. That often takes a lot out of me. And in June there were three such situations that stressed me out and pushed me to the edge of my emotional strength. 50% have now been resolved, but I'm still carrying the others in my heart and in a very practical way.

I was all the more surprised when I read my notes from June and discovered how many treasures I found during this time. I write down almost daily which impulses become important to me from my times in dialogue with God or from books, conversations with people or other sources of inspiration.

My greatest treasures in June:

•  I don't have to "do it" to stay close to Christ. His spirit lives in me. He draws me to the Father. His Spirit teaches me. This may sound like a banal truth, but I have always emphasised my part in faith so strongly - for example, that I seek him - that I have almost overlooked his part in it... for further reading, e.g. 1 John 2:27 or 2 Corinthians 1:21
• Authority in prayer has to do with a close bond with Christ: "If you abide in me and my words abide in you, you will ask what you will...and it will be done!" The image of abiding in the vine from John 15: I am currently listening to Mendelson's Elijah up and down, the music and lyrics touch me deeply. The man stands - apart from emotional crises, which also exist - firmly in the authority of God. Regardless of whether he is bringing a dead child back to life or saying with a powerful voice: "There will be neither dew nor rain here - unless I say so!" (God had pulled the emergency brake with the drought to make it clear to his people that their behaviour - idolatry, child sacrifice - was not life-giving).

There were other treasures - but these are the two biggest for me. And I am looking forward to a new month in which I will deepen these treasures and discover new ones.