What are holidays for?

So what do you think holidays are for? I guess it depends what type of holidays we're talking about. If you're talking about those wonderful Cambodian public holidays that appear on the calendar more or less regularly through the school year, well I'd say they are for sanity preservation! They give me a chance to get marking/planning under control and also to have a little "me" time without feeling guilty. Longer holidays are awesome for that too, but often I need a project to do in the longer breaks so I don't get bored or spend all my day playing Scrabble on Facebook.

Back in April we had a week off school for the Khmer New Year holiday season. It was a really timely break, to recharge batteries for the final 10 weeks of school, as well as time to get a few jobs done - like passport renewal etc. Something I also did during that time was help a friend who was editing a special issue of Japan Harvest. God's timing is always perfect, and in this case the time when she needed a hand was the time when I had time of school. Amazing. Today I finally got to see the complete finished product when I found the package of magazines at the post office.

Today has been a great holiday day! First I went out to visit my old school, and pay an outstanding debt, which it felt really good to be able to do. It was fun seeing the staff and even some of the students out there, especially seeing two of my past teaching assistants. Next it was off to lunch with a friend who lives on that side of town. It's been quite a while since we caught up, so it was great to see her and catch up what's happening in her world. Then I managed to do two banking jobs and some grocery shopping, and finally I decided to call in at the Post Office on the way home, and there, sitting on the counter, was the package with my name on it! Hooray! Now to enjoy reading it and sharing it with others. I hope that as others see how God is working in Japan, they will be encouraged in their own lives, and also encouraged to keep praying for the people of Japan. We don't hear as much about the disaster now, but it's still an ongoing nightmare for many people.

I love holidays! I love the extra time they give me, for writing and for building relationships with people, as well as the time for quiet recharging of my batteries ready for the new school year to begin at the end of August. Hooray for holidays.