4 Minutes

Actually, 4 days.

I have four days to wrap up three years of work, organize it, summarize it, and hand it off. It is surreal. And there is no way I'm going to finish it in time.

As I've started telling the volunteers about my move, I've been blessed to get all kinds of thoughtful emails and calls from people to wish us well, and thank me for my work. I really do love my volunteers. And my co-workers. It has been harder than I thought to leave a job that has been such a roller coaster.

Every time we go to church, or hang out with our friends, or see our family, or meet with our REALLY awesome small group, Les and I talk in whiney-register voices about how sad we are to leave all the GREAT stuff that finally feels like it is rolling in a good way here in Chicago. Oh, these wobbly hearts of ours. We always end those conversations with affirmations that this is the right move for us. That this is the time. That good things are happening for a reason, and for us, and that the Lord provides at every turn.

And if we ever start to really doubt, a new provision pops up unexpectedly. As we scoured Craigslist and rent.com for places to live in Raleigh, we felt overwhelmed and clueless. It's hard to choose a new home, new neighborhood, new lifestyle over the internet. It felt ridiculous, actually. And it looked as though we may be living apart for a while so I could scope out some options. But then my new boss sent me an email. Would we like to live in an empty Habitat house for a while while we get the lay of the land? Rent free? In exchange for some painting and landscaping? They need to do some work on it, but the family moved away and it is empty for now. We could stay there until we find a place to rent.

Um. Yes?

And it is suuuuuper cute, with dark pink shutters and a bright, big kitchen. If it were actually located IN Raleigh, instead of 10 miles outside of Raleigh in a tiny (tiny) small town, I'd probably be keen to just set up camp there. But it will be great to have a place to land for a while, save some rent, and do some exploring before committing to a location.

Thanks, Jesus. That sounds great. That plus the forecast of 75+ degree weather for the next week or so helps ease our relocation angst.

The missing-people part, that still stings. And it will. But for all those times I've prayed "Dear Lord Jesus, Throw Me a Freakin' Bone!", here's a time when the bones just keep coming and coming and coming. And I'll give thanks.