Behind Infinity

A few days ago I made a mistake–omitted a step–in a web project I was working on for a freelance client. As far as screwups go, it wasn’t inconsequential, but it wasn’t enormous either; it fell somewhere in between. I fixed the problem and apologized for my oversight, and the client’s response was, “You are forgiven.” And that was that.

For some reason, in spite of my screwup, I felt good about the whole situation. I think it was because my client didn’t try to minimize or brush aside my apology with something like, “Oh, no biggie,” or “don’t worry about it,” or “everybody makes mistakes,” or “It’s ok.” The fault was acknowledged (by both of us); forgiveness sought; absolution extended in the most matter-of-fact language, without any sidestepping.

And this rather insignificant encounter reminded me that admitting fault doesn’t kill you. While our knee-jerk reaction when somebody admits fault is to immediately minimize it for them–you’re not that bad really!–that doesn’t actually do anything for the faulty person. Generally she goes away feeling even more faulty(”Yes but if you only knew how bad I really am….”). An honest acknowledgment of guilt, met with honesty, forgiveness, and graciousness, is better for both parties involved.

God forgives our faults, the large ones and the small, in great things and small. Remembering that and practicing it in daily life is not necessarily easy; but it is rewarding.

Tabitha gave me a giant 150-count Crayola crayon set for Christmas. It weighs at least two pounds and has all the glitters and neon colors and everything. I’m so thrilled. I plan to go home tonight and use it to christen the Enchanted coloring book that my mom got me a couple of months ago.

Also, today I am wearing Sleeping Beauty socks.

Two very special people got married yesterday.

One of them was my brother.

The other one was his beloved Lisa.

I had the privilege of being official photographer for this event. Two of my photography-loving friends–Dustin and Kristen–helped capture the memories, too. I have over 1700 shots to comb through. It’s going to take me awhile. Eventually I’ll post the finished product, for all to see. After Colin and Lisa get to enjoy them first, that is.

They’re definitely beautiful together.

Want to know who else is beautiful?

Micah. He is beautiful AND makes beautiful music. This is possibly one of my top ten favorite photos I’ve ever taken. The look of concentration. The strong lines of the piano, framing and reflecting the strong lines of his handsome face. It’s really pretty great.

And silly.

It’s been fairly snowy this week.

Today was my last day of work at Acton. It’s been almost two years since I started there. In some ways it feels like a lot longer than that, but of course in the grand scheme of employment two years isn’t all that long.

Overall, working at Acton was a great first job. I had to really hit the ground running, and I learned a whole lot in very little time. I got to attend some pretty neat conferences. I worked with some amazing people. I made some amazing friends too. They gave me a wonderful send-off party at the pub down the street.

My boss John has been really, really, really great. Wonderful to work for, and extremely supportive and happy for me, with regards to my new job. I’ll miss him.

And then there’s marc.

(That’s all we’ll say about that.)

(And I did not get a photo of Tabitha, or the other wonderful people, but they do exist.)

So what’s next? I’m back on the webteam at Grand Valley. Except this time I’m a full-fledged developer, not a student worker, and I’m bringing back an additional two years of experience. It’s something new and old, both at once. It’s going to be sweet. Also, faculty and staff can take classes for free. So I’m really super excited about that.

But that’s a whole two days away. in the meantime, I’m going to chillax. Yay weekend.