No More Moving--For Now

This morning I'm sitting on Cory's couch in Aurora. The move from Colorado is complete, and it was memorable! (A side note--all I really know about Michelle and the kids at this point is that they have made it to Huntington and that the trip wasn't great. Lots of crying, no sleeping--but they're there and safe.)

I got up Tuesday morning and walked outside to discover it was raining--hard. I went from the Naden's house (Southern Gables worship pastor whose family graciously allowed us to stay with them) to my brother's house to load the car up and get the truck. He and I got the car loaded, but it was raining so hard we both had to change clothes and towel off before leaving.

Because of the rain and the time of day, the 15 mile drive through Denver took about an hour. We had been looking forward to our trip together so much that neither of us really cared about the rain or the traffic, we were just glad to be enjoying our time. We had some great talks about theology and the Bible and spent a lot of the time playing stupid games that gave me the hiccups.

Our first night we stopped somewhere in Iowa. It was still raining. When we got up in the morning, it was still raining. In a show of our fatherly inability to really sleep in we were up and on the road again by 8:00. About two hours from Aurora, it stopped raining. This was a huge blessing because we didn't have to unload the truck in a downpour.

One side note--if you ever drive a big ol' truck through the Chicago area, bring wads of cash for tolls. Each one cost us $5.35.

One other great thing is that Cory let us put stuff in his spare room and the garage so we didn't have to rent a storage space. Cory, Ryan, Megan, Michael, and I worked a sweet assembly line up the stairs and filled the spare room in record time.

So we're glad to be here. I do miss Denver already and so many of the people who have greatly impacted our life who we will see less frequently now. But we know that they will continue to be a part of our lives and we continue to see God's graciousness to us in the transition.

God's Goodness in Pain

Coming to Denver from Indiana five years ago was tough for us. When we left we all had to drive separate cars, and when we made our first stop I got out and saw Michelle's eyes stained with tears. She said she had cried for the first two hours of our trip. We both had a hard time leaving our families. We assumed we'd be in Denver for three years and then move back nearer home.

Now, five years later, we are taking the step we thought would be a relief--we're moving back to the Midwest. We are very excited for what lies ahead of us, but it is very difficult too. One of the prayers we prayed when we came here was that God would give us good friends, and I know Michelle prayed for that especially hard. We have seen God answer those prayers beyond what we could have imagined.

Now, when Michelle thinks about leaving, she is moved to tears in the same way she was when we came. If I stop and think about our move in the midst of the busyness I also have a hard time thinking about the people we're leaving.

It's this pain that has been my greatest reminder of God's goodness in the last few days. First, that God would create us with an ability to relate to others in a way that leaving them would be painful. I praise Him for that. And the fact that he has made this place that is so far from home become our home, that could not have happened without His hand, and I praise Him for that. So our pain is our reminder of the goodness of our God. It is this goodness we throw ourselves on as we move to the next chapter in our lives.

Crazy Weeks

We are now only a little over two weeks from leaving Denver. After spending five years here we are sad to go but excited for what is coming next. I don't think the full impact of leaving will hit us for a while because there is so much to do at the moment. We are packing, figuring out how to start a 501C3, looking for housing and jobs (thanks to Cory and my parents for their help on that front!), trying to see everyone here one last time, and finishing up our jobs here.

I am thankful that our lives will only be so scattered for a few weeks!