It seems like a long time since I posted a personal update on this my personal blog. So I’m delighted to take some time to update you on things.
First of all, I’m delighted to say that I am doing well health-wise. In the second half of February I had some brief skirmishes with flu and cold-like symptoms, but I’m over the worst of that.
Mentally the last few weeks have been very demanding and very trying. I have had some experience of depression in my past and was aware of familiar indicators present in my head-space over recent weeks. Thank God for good people in my life to intervene and remind me of my focus on Jesus to help overcome any tendencies to be dragged down familiar dead ends.
One of the reasons why I often get low is because I’ll tend to overload myself with responsibilities. I’ll want to do too much, too soon and get too excited with the latest new enterprise and lose sight of commitments I’ve already made and more importantly what God calls me to do. So being ineffective at a lot of things it takes much for me to catch up, slow down and re-evaluate what I really should be doing, and what I should let go.
Thankfully on this occasion, I have not let things linger for too long before taking action, and that has allowed me to finish February a lot more positive about things. I feel there’s still some more refining to take place, some more dropping off of things and focusing on the core things so as to best use what energies I’ve got.
At the start of this year, I wrote about my desire to excel. I’m even more aware that this desire calls for hard work in actively taking off the things that hold me back and diving into the things that will help me to actually be more fruitful.
Going through the gospel according to Matthew over February has been hugely rewarding in grounding everything in Jesus. Gaining a fresh appreciation for the King and His Kingdom and how that should be my focus has been illuminating, challenging and immensely helpful.
In other news, my family are fine. My three daughters are a source of such joy to me. Unique in their characters, utterly compelling in how they express themselves, I do not take for granted their very health and capacity to express themselves is an expression of God’s grace.
My beloved wife is also doing well and I’m happy about that. I still think our marriage is continuing on an upward swing presently. Experience teaches never to assume things will remain sweet and there’s no room for improvement. Experience also teaches to thank God for sweet moments even in the most challenging of times. We are going through some interesting times as a couple and as a family, but I celebrate this present moment of a sweet, rich and meaningful marriage to Authrine, my beloved.
Work? Well that’s been very … interesting. Teething pains is the phrase I’ve been using to describe how that’s going. I am hoping I’m through the worst of it, but we shall see. Teething because it’s a new role in a new context for me, although it’s doing something I love to do which is as a tutor.
Church? Ah. Well. Quite a bit I could say about that. What I will say for the time being is that I love church now more than ever and I’m very much aware of my need for it now more than ever. This makes my current position all the more … interesting. Hopefully updates in the future will clarify what might appear as cryptic comments.
My hope for March is to marry that King and Kingdom focus from February and its ripple effect in all my life with wise living that (super)naturally follows that. Thus I endeavour to go through the book of Proverbs a chapter a day through the month and pick out and apply pertinent nuggets of wisdom that can better shape my life.
Continue to remember the Dryden family in your prayers – thanks so much for taking the time to read this entry and other things I post on here. Your likes, your comments, merely popping in and out again, is appreciated.
For His Name’s Sake
Shalom
C. L. J. Dryden
Life With CD 