The One that's Overly Complicated

Boy, oh boy.

I made that decision way more difficult than it needed to be.

But then again. That's what I do.

Nothing new.

At the beginning of this week I had all but decided to not accept a sub job for today.

Friday.

You see, this evening we will taking 7 of our teens to another FM church 2 hours away.

To join other youth groups for World Vision's 30 Hour Famine.

The fast actually begins on our own at 12:30pm today.

But starting at 7pm tonight we will come together for times of worship.

Of awareness.

Of prayer.

Of service.

Of fun.

Of new friends.

All in the name of our Lord who is calling us to give up food for 30 hours and raise money that those who have nothing will never hunger or thirst again.

I love that this experience is spiritual and physical.

Experiencing for a mere day what countless children deal with hourly.

Right here in our own cities.

And around the world.

One child dies every 7 seconds from preventable cause such as poverty, disease and hunger.

The money we raise from our sponsors for 30 Hour Famine will go to take care of those children all for the sake of THE Cause of Christ.

Be praying for us won't you?

And if you wish to donate $1 or $100 dollars please contact me.

So back to the hard decision part.

I wasn't going to work today.

Especially after I worked Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday this week.

Which is more than I anticipated when I signed up for this gig.

But you know what, these past two weeks I've really started to enjoy teaching.

I don't know if it's the specific students I've worked with,

or my increased competance and confidence,

or both.

But I'm really getting into this school thing.

And it definitely doesn't hurt to have a third grader raise her hand and say,

"I have an observation. You are really really beautiful."

*blush*

Or the boy at the end of the class say, "You are the most gorgeous person on the face of the planet."

Or the three 4th grade girls burst out giggling with, "You are really pretty."

Let alone the, "You're the best sub we've ever had!"

Seriously, people, talk about self-esteem boost.

All that to say, when I saw a job pop up for vocal music, I knew I had to take it.

I was excited.

Just ask Kevin or Britt.

But then it occurred to me.

(Hey! I finally spelled "occurred" correctly. I always leave out an "r." Go me.)

It was 9:30pm the night before the Famine.

I needed to go grocery shopping.

Pack our stuff.

Prepare paperwork and lessons for the weekend.

Bake bread and brownies for the breaking of the fast potluck.

And taking the sub job would also mean:

Working Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday.

Friday night.

All day Saturday.

And all day Sunday.

Seeing as how my job is church and youth group.

(And believe it or not, that stuff takes lots of work and responsibility.)

Hmm. I was at a crossroads.

I had already accepted the job.

And even contacted the teacher to ask a couple questions.

But should I burn myself out like that?

Even if I really wanted that job, should I risk stress and headache?

After taking too much time to think this through, I opted to turn down the job.

I felt like I had just tarnished my record.

(Granted, no one but me and maybe the payroll guy sees my record, but that's beside the point.)

In the end, I believe I made the wise decision.

A happy, relaxed Melanie is worth much more than $80 I do believe.

And I'm pretty darn sure my husband would agree.