i love my job.

pretty much every day i arrive charged and leave amped. occasionally i leave drained, but with that “wow, that was just so cool” kind of being drained.

but yesterday was a field of gnats.

you know how, when you’re walking through a meadow or field, it’s possible to suddenly find yourself in the middle of a swarm of gnats, or, at least, something gnat-like? you swat. they silently fly around your head. they don’t really land on you or hurt you in any particular way. they’re just really annoying. that was yesterday.

-already drained (but in the good way!) from the Sac convention,
-a bit overwhelmed by what has to be done in these three days before we leave for the Pitts convention,
-deciding if or how to respond to the trickle of emails coming in about “how YS is embracing eastern religion” (from an absurd web article a couple weeks ago)
-responding to a few snotty blog comments (that would probably not normally have bugged me, but in my already “low fuel” state, they got to me)
-engaging in a very time-consuming, but important, but draining email dialogue with a friend over a minor disagreement about a major issue that turned into a more major disagreement over a minor issue that hurt her deeply which wasn’t my intention at all which made me want to just crawl into bed, pull up the covers, and watch daytime television
-counseling and encouraging a friend who is walking through a huge challenge with another friend
-responding to some ministry partners who were, to one degree or another, miffed about some stuff at the convention

anyhow, the list went on yesterday, and the gnats circled. i swatted most of them away, one at a time; but it left me gnat-spent. luckily, last night was survivor and apprentice — so i had that goin’ for me.