Is it really like this?

This week has been a week of absolute mayhem. I have been doing the auto adjuster thing for 3 weeks now. I have been taking claims and booking vehicles in to get appraised and all that wonderful stuff associated with auto claims. We have what's called a "BF List". That is "Bring Forward". So, when I book someone in to get an appraisal I set a "BF point" one or two days after their appointment. This gives the Appraiser time to upload his photos of the vehicles damage and the estimate of the damage. The BF point acts as a pop-up on the BF List. It is a reminder for me that the next step needs to happen in order to deal with this particular claim. Okay, that's the BF List in a nutshell.

So, this week has been the week where the loads of claims I have been doing have been popping up on the BF List. They NEED to get dealt with. Some are easy and straight forward. Just send a letter to the person reminding them to have their vehicle repaired ASAP then close the file. Others are not so easy. When we write a vehicle off there is a LOT of paperwork associated with that and the auto adjuster is just the person to take care of that.

So the start of this week came after a weekend, as all week beginnings usually start. However, this particular week saw only myself and another adjuster on duty. The weekend had been pretty cold with lovely icy roads and that makes for one crazy Monday of claims. Needless to say, we are swamped. Today I was handling claims left over from yesterday. I actually got the number of claims to be processed down to the single digits for about an hour. Then I made the mistake of looking at my BF List. Have you ever looked into the eyes of madness? As Jack Nicholson as the Joker put it, "Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" I came close to having a conniption. Is that how that's spelled? I've said that word a lot but have never had to spell it until now...weird. I am barely keeping my head above water dealing with the new claims. Okay, who am I kidding. I'm drowning horribly. But the real kicker is that I'm not able to deal with all the stuff coming in on the back end. I'm adding new claims but not dealing with the old ones. And I have quite a few vehicles that need more work than the standard letter.

This is week 3 of being an auto adjuster. Needless to say I have been sleeping quite soundly with dreams that consist of claims and my never being able to successfully get a car booked in to get appraised. This is the eye of my madness.

The worries and cares of this world.

Man, oh man! What a time it has been here lately. SO much is going on. I can't remember if I've posted this here or not but I know I have been saying it to those whom I have talked with the last while - I have never known a time of this kind of busyness. It's like I have no time to relax at home, no time for anything. I'm not sure if this has something to do with my sitting on my butt for two months in Calgary taking a break from life waiting for our house to sell or not. I tell ya, things are really hectic here.

I have been working and training at my new position and it's a huge learning curve. Lots to know. Procedure's, computer menu's, protocol's, forms and the why's and how's of all of it and more. It has been at the forefront of my mind. I've been thinking about it at night, dreaming about it and waking up early, EARLY in the morning with this stuff on my mind. It's crazy!

Today it hit me. Christmas is almost two weeks away. The time of year when the world celebrates the birth of my Savior, Jesus Christ. How much has this been on my mind? Not the buying gifts and all that stuff associated with Christmas but the actual pondering and thinking and meditating on the gift of God to man - His Son. I'll tell you how much. Zero. I mean it. Zero. Zilch. Nada. I have been so wrapped up in the goings on of life here that Jesus Christ is far, far away from my thoughts. Sure, I pray and talk with Him. But reading His Word and being fed by His Word and just enjoying Him...nuh-uh. I could come up with a zillion excuses for my not doing this but in the end it adds up to the same - I have wandered away from Him. That sheep that has left the fold and gotten lost.

I can relate to that sheep. Just moving along from one place to the next until all of a sudden it looks up and...what the heck? I'm lost. What have I been doing? In focusing on the world around me I have lost sight of the Shepherd. Where is He? Where did He go? Why do I keep getting myself lost? What gets me is the next part in this parable. The Shepherd LEAVES the 99 sheep who are not lost and goes after the one that is. He's actually searching intently for that one that wandered away. He's actually looking...for me. Me, who wandered away. Me, the one who left. Me

"Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on
whom his favor rests."