1 Chronicles 4:9-10 "Jabez was the most distinguished of his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, "I bore him with pain." Jabez prayed to the God of Israel: "Oh, that you may truly bless me and extend my boundaries! May your hand be with me and make me free of misfortune, without pain!" And God granted his prayer."
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My circulation desk area is larger than the classroom I had to teach reading in at the other school before I came here 7 years ago.
My library is as big as a gym and it is all mine. I am the only employee of my large room. It is hard to keep up with it all.
But for the last two weeks I had to move out, while some special groups used the library for state testing. Not the whole school, just some groups. So I packed up a book cart or two or more....
And I rolled out into the entry of the school. I called it the Annex.
These pictures were when I was still keeping it neat. By the last day I looked like a home shelter for librarians.
My spiritual director likened it to the Prayer of Jabez, above. The thing is, I never prayed to increase my boundaries. I didn't need any more space. I have pondered the "without pain" part of the prayer.
It was noisy in the hallway and the air was bad and the cafeteria smells and sounds from lunch really bothered me.
But, the good news is, it is finished. I am back in my library this week. I have a lot of cleaning up to do.