Progress Report

When I was single it used to bug me when married people would say stuff like, “I never understood how sinful I am until I got married!” As if marriage alone can truly refine people. Well in case you’re single and you’ve ever felt that way, let me tell you about another means of sanctification that I have newly discovered this week, and it is no respecter of marital status:

Moving cross-country.

The drive itself was not that bad. In fact, I really enjoyed traveling across numerous states and seeing the different types of beauty that our country possesses. But once we arrived, that’s when the baptism by fire began.

Of course we had the normal, moving-in obstacles, such as an AC unit that apparently hasn’t been used in awhile and had trouble achieving a temperature below 80 degrees–no biggie. But the sheer enormity of the task, that’s what has gotten to me. For instance, our books seem to be multiplying like rabbits! It doesn’t matter how many I put on a shelf, I just keep finding more!

And then there’s the mess. I am a Type A personality who likes to have everything in its place, nice and neat and pretty. In fact, it’s hard for me to concentrate on a task when anything in our apartment is our of place. Well right now our apartment looks like a tornado swept through it and dumped the entire town’s population of cardboard boxes into our living room.

We’ve been going non-stop with little to show for it, and after awhile it takes a toll. Yesterday my husband and I took a break to try out one of the many cute restaurants on our street. We walked into a pizza joint called “Buffo’s” with a giant jester sitting over the doorway. The pizza was delicious and the atmosphere was really down-home, but Ike and I just sat there like grumpy old men. We had crossed into that stage where you’re so exhausted that everything anyone says to you is annoying and/or offensive, so we left as soon as we were done eating and rode home in silence. Good times.

All of that to say, I apologize for the lack of blog posts this week but my brain is mush. Moving is exhausting and I’m glad I don’t have to do it very often. However, we are really excited about the area and we’ve been blessed by how friendly everyone here has been. Southerners have certainly got some competition in the hospitality department! We’ve also enjoyed sweet time with our friends who accompanied us up here, and it’s been a blast experiencing this new area with them.

Thanks so much for the many prayers and words of encouragement. We’re still looking for church suggestions, so any ideas for the north Chicago area are greatly appreciated. Hopefully I’ll be back to my regular blogging self soon, but in the mean time I’m calling it a day and going to bed!