two weeks

We've settled into a nice little house -  first time living on the East Coast. We've set up all the necessary utilities. We've sweat like mad through several days with a broken air conditioner in high humidity. 

We sent our 15-year-old off on his first solo flight. He learned to navigate a layover and flight delay without dependence on a phone (just like we all did in the "olden" days!). We brought our dog with us on this move - the first pet to come with us to the next duty station. We've taken the D.C. Metro line into the city. It's been almost 10 years since we've used public transportation.

We experienced our first black church (predominantly black) and thoroughly enjoyed the services, making new friends. 

We've walked across a Civil War battlefield for the first time, reflecting on the enormity of the many lives slain, their blood spilled upon that same soil we tread. 

We sat with hundreds of others gazing out at our nation's fireworks display over the Washington Monument on the 4th of July. Our kids walked the National Mall and viewed historical landmarks up close for the first time. We've driven over the Potomac, realizing this is not just a tourist visit. We live here! 

Pretty cool accomplishments, but it hasn't all been fun. My emotions have been pressed hard in many directions these past two weeks. Going into our third week, I can look back and give thanks for God's protection, mercy, and blessings. A million things could have gone wrong, but they didn't. A hundred hiccups could have stalled our progress, but they didn't. 

A bullet could have struck a direct hit into the head of our former US president, but it didn't. What an incredible reminder that we are not sovereign over the details of our lives, as much as we carefully try and plan and pursue happiness or whatever we think we need. 

I read the first part of Samson's life in the book of Judges this morning. I have mixed feelings about that whole story, but verse four of chapter fourteen tells us that Samson's foolish choice or outright disobedience, whatever you call it, was still under the watchful eye of the Lord. 

"But his father and his mother knew not that it was of the Lord, that he sought an occasion against the Philistines" I feel for his parents though, so blessed and eager to receive the gift of a son, then to watch him turn down a path that would bring angst and strong contention.   

That's why Proverbs 3:5-6 is so important to remember: "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths." 

Jesus is a personal Savior. He cares about two weeks of your life. He cares about nations and the direction they go. He cares that we each learn from the past, and trust him with the future.