comfort zones

I left my house sixteen hours ago.  Just home from my Tuesday.  It was a good day, but it is always a long day!   It wears me out because its long.  And today, it wore me out because so much of it was spent outside of my comfort zone.  Now, that's not a bad thing ... as a matter of fact, we probably all need to spend a little MORE time there.  But it's exhausting.

I chalk it up to the introvert in me.  It's kind of like my laptop battery that keeps reminding me that it is "nearing the end of its usable life."  It charges, but it loses that charge much too quickly.  Same thing for me.  I can sleep well, have a great day, awesome quiet time, great conversations, but by the time 8 meetings and 8:00 pm rolls around, I am D.O.N.E.  The more I am around people and the more meetings and stuff, the less I have left to give.  Oh, to be an extrovert that actually gained momentum from the intense gauntlet of BCM people!

My comfort zone is ...
* one-on-one or small group conversations
* planning and organizing
* logistics and details
* hearing stories/telling stories
* easy people - those I know well or who can carry on an actual conversation
* transition time between stuff

Today I felt like I was out of the old C.Z. more than I was in it ...
* We had an all-day tailgate where campus ministers were outside giving out freezie pops and hot dogs.  In my CZ, I can do that in short spurts a few times.  Today it was a lot.
* BCMers hung around the tailgate.  That's great ... but it surprises some people to know that there are students active in BCM that none of the campus ministers really knows.  So, even when it's "home" folks, the small talk can grow exhausting.  You know, the kind where you feel like you are constantly trying to ask enough questions to keep the conversation going.
* Interruptions.  I am not sure I ever got to finish one thing today that I set out to do ... the first time.  That's ok.  It's the nature of what we do.  But today, it happened a.lot.
* Jane.  I loved Jane.  Hanging out with internationals is not my greatest strength.  I think it's the small talk thing.  I'm not great at it and it takes a lot to get to know someone.  Not Jane.  She is a pediatrician from Zambia who came to the states to get a public health degree.  Her husband, also a doctor got a scholarship to Emory and she to UGA, so she lives in Athens with possibly the most adorable little 2 1/2 year old Zambian boy (her son) and he lives in Atlanta.  She is amazing!  I cannot wait to get to know her better!  We hit it off talking about medicine and Zambia ... and her little guy won my heart!!!  I got to take her today to pick up him up from school.  Now I know where they live and can spend some time getting to know them better!  Outside of my comfort zone, but such a unexpected blessing.
* Crowds.  Not gonna lie.  By 8 pm ... the sheer volume of people at Gathering is overwhelming.  It's kind of like running the gauntlet to get from one part of the room to another ... and you just get handed off from one conversation to another to another to another.  Some nights it seems I'll never escape it.
* Late nights.  By 9:30 when the service is over, I am exhausted.  By 11 pm when I am making my way to the door, one last conversation at a time, I am toast.

Living outside my comfort zone left me exhausted ... and blessed.