Just to dispel any myths that working in prayer is glamorous, I thought I’d share with you the story of our Wednesday afternoon this week.
Just as some background, we’ve been looking at reviewing some of our processes recently. Stuff like admin, communication, filing… fun stuff like that. Wednesday afternoon came around and it was time to tackle communication. We’d worked all morning, and had lunch, and so we decided to have a brief ten minute blast back at our desks before hitting the review. It was at this point that our neat plans came crashing down around our ears, and chaos and catastrophe ensued!
The first signs of trouble were some unhappy noises from Friendly Boss’s desk. She was searching for a file on her computer, which, though it had been faithfully completed previously, just happened to have inconveniently dematerialised. After a futile search through the annals of the filing system, the only solution was to recreate it from scratch, as it was the deadline for it to be sent off. Not a good moment. The technological malfunction was then exacerbated, as her small computer began to have health issues, until it froze, unspeaking and immobile. In Friendly Boss’s defence, she remained calm, and did not throw either computer out of the window, a temptation which may have proved too strong for me.
On my side of the desk divide, things were equally fraught. Lots of things we seeking to distract me from my tasks, not least bored colleagues and disgruntled email correspondents. I was looking forward to the tea and chocolate which were to be integral parts of the communications review. I was also feeling quite sleepy, a fact which did not abet my ability to rise above the administrative mayhem bearing a cheery grin!
Things continued in a similar, unfruitful vein for an hour or so. By this time we decided to abandon the communications review and retreat to a purveyor of latte and muffins in a last ditch attempt to redeem the afternoon. There was, however, one last grim moment to be had.
In order to preserve the dignity of Friendly Boss’s Sometimes Hapless Guide Dog, I will leave it to your imagination as to why we found ourselves huddled in a grimy corner near the shopping centre. I would also like to state that we were off the beaten track, we were prepared for the eventuality, and were therefore not harming or disrupting anyone. It was therefore quite bemusing as a random man started telling us off. Just to give you an idea of our crime, I quote his catchphrase: “You people are nasty innit (insert repetitive expletives here)”. Now, I am quite a placid person, but after a few minutes of this I found myself retorting, which, though brave, proved futile.
We reached the aforementioned purveyor, finally, laughing about the litany of disaster that had befallen us in such a short period of time. Life in prayer may not be glamorous, but it certainly cannot be described as dull!!
