As promised, Therapy Thursday...

I don’t know why I began to name the Days of the Week, and live by those names…It just happened, but I have ended up liking it as it gives me some guidance on how to put my time to good use. Although, being the random thinker that I am, there are a lot of exceptions to the schedule. Still, it’s an improvement as my former schedule seemed to be all exceptions.

…Except for Therapy Thursday. Insofar as it is within my power, I don’t make an exception for Therapy Thursday.

Originally when I was coming up with Weekday names, I struggled with Thursday. There’s not a lot of applicable adjectives for appropriate alliteration. Thoughtful Thursday – nope, there is more to Thursday than that. Thankful Thursday – nope, I needed something more active. And after that, there’s just not much for TH words out there! Thursday used to be my cleaning day so I would have the house ready for the weekend, and Friday free for fun. I finally settled on Thespian Thursday, because it was the day I had to act like I liked cleaning.

Lame, I know.

And then I started volunteering at the Lynden Pioneer Museum. I love history, and I think it is important. I want to support the preservation of the facts and memories that made our town what it is today. The wonder of history is that many individuals, going about their ordinary lives end up creating extraordinary foundations that the rest of us live on, where we can add our own layer. We can gain so much wisdom from knowing what has come before.

That is my little soap box moment for saying: GET TO KNOW YOUR HISTORY, PEOPLE, AND YOU WILL UNDERSTAND THE PRESENT BETTER!

So anyway, I became a docent for the museum, and filled in occasionally…until I enjoyed it so much that I was there every other week. I love the museum, and met so many interesting people amongst the docents, and the guests. Tami, the volunteer coordinator made me feel so welcome, and since I had known her from school days, it was fun to catch up and get to know each other.

Then one fateful day, another schoolmate stopped in to shop. We encouraged Marjean to spend some of her free time with us at the museum. Tami scheduled her to join me on a Thursday morning, and within a couple of months, we were the regular Thursday morning docent team.

I think you could accurately categorize my relationships with Tami and Marjean as acquaintances when this all began, but over the course of seeing each other every Thursday morning, we have had ample opportunity to share our lives. And it has been a great blessing! We laugh a lot; we commiserate; we brainstorm; we listen; we advise; we share ideas for homemaking, celebrations and projects; we ask what’s for dinner; we consider the state of the world today. This all happens sporadically, in the context of interruptions from other volunteers, guests, and the ever-entertaining museum director, Troy, who provides historical information, often in burlesque style. It’s historical hysterical. The icing on this cake is that it occurs in the physical setting of a GIFT SHOP…and we are always the first to see the new merchandise! Could there be anything more perfect? I think not!

I thought we were helping out the museum – but it is clear that we have been helped much more! One day, we started calling it Therapy Thursday -- and I mean that with all my heart! Tami and Marjean have been special gifts to my life, and treasured friends. The only thing that linked us originally was the museum…the rest of our lives don’t intersect much, with friends or family…and I think that is part of the magic. We have different experiences that bring different perspectives. I’ve gained so much from these whole-hearted, good-hearted women!

I think sometimes we try so hard to machinate therapeutic relationships that we miss how God can use circumstances to provide. Look around, dear readers, you may find unexpected treasure in everyday situations.

And I hope you do.

In a few weeks, Therapy Thursdays will have to find a new mechanism as Tami retires from the museum. Therapy Thursdays will live on, because we love them, and we need them. We just aren’t sure yet what they will look like.

But we can’t change the day…because that will mess up my whole life.

See? I do need therapy.