Flight Patterns January Recap

I’ve dealt with tired, overwhelm, and burnout before, but these last two weeks were different. I came back from Christmas break to a new dorm room, more intense class schedule, and training and paperwork for my new job.

Just as I settled in, we received a snowstorm, which I wrote about in my last newsletter. However, the snow was only fun for the first few days. Then came ice and slush. (And cabin fever.) Now, ice itself isn’t that big of an issue. But our campus is on a hill, which means all the paths and already-treacherous staircases were even more slick. Thankfully, we had Campus Care workers who worked really hard clearing the paths.

Wednesday morning. Afternoon classes were scheduled, and everyone was excited to go back to normal.

That was when the fire alarm went off. It was in the dorm next door, so I thought someone had simply forgot to turn off their alarm. But I get a knock on my door from my friend. “Are you aware that Davidson is flooding?”

*cue dramatic music.*

I show up to find several inches of water in the hall. More water is streaming down from the light fixtures, ceiling fans, and out of the electrical sockets. It’s a mess. People are moving stuff, catching water in trashcans, putting towels down to stop the spreading.Dripping echos everywhere, and our hushed, urgent tones bounce oddly off the water, creating a surreal, nightmarish feel. We spend hours cleaning up and relocating students to other dorms. Classes are canceled for the day.

Between the lingering cabin fever and the new flooding issues, I begin to fall more and more behind on my homework. I start feeling more pressure than I can handle, but there’s nothing I can do except grind away at homework, show up to work, and try to keep up on showering and laundry and dishes.

I’m completely wiped out, drained, past the point of exhaustion. I’ve never been more consistant with Bible reading in my life (which isn’t saying much,) and I write down passages like Psalm 69, “I am weary in my crying out,” and “Hide not your face from your servant; for I am in distress, make haste to answer me.”

No answer. Things don’t get better. I start losing verbal and motor skills from being overstressed and develop nausea and headaches.

Then, I go to church. And the reading is from John 8. “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (Vs 31-32.)

The word “abide” jumped out at me. This wasn’t a verb telling me to do anything or add anything to my to-do list. It was a verb that means continue in what I was already doing, to remain, to wait. To keep reading the Bible, going to church, and holding up my end of my resposibilities.

As I sit here with my oatmeal, I still have a lot on my plate. This newsletter is

a few days later than I would have liked, and I’ve had to turn down many good opportunities in order to catch up on everything I behind on.

But I wanted to share a little of what’s going on and encourage you to abide in Scriptures and the promises they hold.

Best regards,
Desiree Flaming

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This letter is a little late because of everything else I’ve been trying to keep on track, so my apologies. For those who wanted to see pictures of my dorm room, those will come out soon.

Have a good week!