Jai Yen Yen (ใจเย็น ๆ) on Purpose

 Surprisingly, I’m finding moments while the kids are here to check in on some final prep work for our time in Thailand coming up at the end of the month.

Found time yesterday to finish off the last of the work for the ten-lesson children’s study on the fruit of the Spirit for evening worship time.  At least, it’s as much as I can do until we’re actually there and I’m doing the final prep for each day. 

AND I got another good run at the sermon I’m hoping (oh it’s a maxed-out neuron push!) to preach in Thai on the benefits of wisdom (ประโยชน์ของปัญญาpra-yort kong banyaa). 

It’s down to the wire now.  Less than two weeks.  We took our first dose of Dukoral yesterday.  That always means the countdown is on. 

But even as the time presses in, I’m happily satisfied that all the work I’ve been putting into this since just after Christmas is really paying off now.  The reverse engineering thing, where you prayerfully map out how much you need to get done by certain dates in order to reach a goal?  Yeah.  That.  It’s working. 

That thing you do when you sit down with the calendar in February and ask for wisdom and clarity to make sure a robust summer can work to sustain your family, even with so many moving parts?  Yeah.  That.  It’s working.

 

Working enough to find me sitting with my binder and Thai Bible on the boat writing out titles and texts in Thai, while Jayden and Harvest go ‘net fishing’, all of us relaxed and satisfied that something really good is happening in the space we have before us.  For me, verb forms and tones falling into place.  For Jayden, minnows swimming calmly into the net.

It’s all ‘jai yen yen’ (ใจเย็น ๆ)– an expression that is usually translated as ‘calm down’, but literally means ‘heart in the middle’ or ‘cool heart’ .  More about temperature and balance really.  And it’s always spoken with such gentleness and reassurance.  Not that Suradet and Yupa would ever have reason to use this phrase with me.  No, of course not. 

I am full of gratitude.

As indicated, yes, I most certainly have had a lot of earnest conversation with God over all of this; the planning-for-Thailand part, and the sustaining-of-family-and-care-for-our-collective-spirituality-this-summer part.

So, wow and thank You. 

Not taking this for granted.

Today is ‘going into Midland’ day.

This is when we do ‘all the things’ in celebration of summer birthdays.

Making memories. 

Being fully present in every moment.