A couple of weeks ago, on the day of revelation, as part of the course we had to do a quiz. It was one of those quizzes like you do in magazines, where you have multiple choice answers, and then your answers tell you something about yourself. This quiz was to find out ‘what excites you’? I was a bit miffed by my result because apparently what excites me is ‘things’! Closely followed by people and quite far away were information and knowledge (not too worrying for a teacher!)

THINGS! THINGS! THINGS! When I first found out this was my top answer I couldn’t quite believe it, I couldn’t help but think that this meant I was shallow and materialistic. But… The more I thought about (yes you guessed it) the more I realised it was true. But not necessarily in the materialistic way.

I like owning things. I have a lot of stuff. I like to have things which belong to me. Let me explain, I don’t really do the download thing, I buy albums on iTunes and then I own them. Similarly we have a lot of DVDs, we own box sets and movies. I’m not sure why I like to own them but I do. One of the most exciting times of the year is the beginning of the school year when I get to buy new stationary! When I set up this blog I had the option of buying my domain name, and I decided that I wanted to, and I’m glad that I did! I’m not sure what this says about me but hey it’s true!

I like receiving things. I love presents, especially when I can tell the person has put a lot of thought into it. I keep a lot of things that I have received from people. On my hen night all of my friends had written a postcard which were all put into a mini photo album. One of the most thoughtful gifts I have ever received and I still have it.

I like giving things. I think this is where the ‘thing’ thing really kicks in for me. I love to give presents, to think carefully about gifts for people. Giving is one of the main ways in which I feel I am able to bless people. Whether that is making three times as much soup than I need and giving two others enough soup for a week. Or whether it is my niece who has bad skin, and I heard that donkey milk soap works. So now I make sure that that is the one thing that I provide for her. If I hear that someone likes something, I tend to get that person that thing. 

So… I like things! I don’t think this is a bad thing but I think it is something that I need to be aware of as I continue on with my journey!