Thankful

Today I was getting bored and going a bit stir crazy, so I decided to go to Starbucks.  My plan was to read a book and just enjoy being around people.  God had another plan though.  I ended up sitting next to an old man that was sketching.  I asked if I could sit in the seat next him (he was sitting in the comfortable arm chairs and I didn't want to sit in one of the hard wooden chairs to read).  He told me that would love for me to sit there.  For the next hour or so I got to learn about his life and he told me the life stories of almost everyone who walked in the door.  I learned that when he was younger his teachers thought he had a learning disability, but as it turned out he had a hearing problem.  He went on to get his PhD in Special Education, teach at a high school and several universities.  He also served in the air-force doing rescue diving from helicopters, just like the coast guard.  Even more impressing, he worked in a psychiatric hospital helping children.  He's lived all over the world and even plowed the field that used to be where the Starbucks sits now.  I learned about his family and the paintings that he sells.


I never got his name, but I know that conversation we had this afternoon was just what God had in mind for me to do today.  God knew that I needed to be around people and to have a chance to just have a conversation face to face. Praise God because He knows what you need and provides it even when you don't ask. 


"In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will."
~Romans 8:26-27

Centreville to Chesapeake

A little over a week ago I moved to Chesapeake, VA.  The move went better than I could have imagined. Beth, Scott, Thomas and my parents helped me load up my stuff in NoVa and Mike and Josh helped unload it in Chesapeake.  Without all of their help, my move would not have gone as smoothly as it did and I can't thank them enough.  There was one person that made my whole move possible, my wonderful boyfriend Sean.  He really got the raw end of the deal.  He drove a truck with a trailer attached and had to help load AND unload.  His whole day was spent moving and he didn't complain or grumble once.  I still can't believe that God has blessed me with such an amazing man.

When I left Centreville the weather was warm and sunny, then I arrived in Chesapeake and monsoon season hit.  I've spent most of this week in my new apartment (pictures to come) watching the rain.  Luckily the cable man came last Monday, so I've watched a considerable amount of TV as well. Since then I haven't been super motivated to do much of anything on my to do list.

Most of my unpacking is done. The rest may never get unpacked because I'm tired of unpacking.  And let's face it, if I didn't feel the need to unpack it this past week it means that either a) the box is full of useless objects that will just have to repacked when I move in the future or b) at some point I'm going to be looking for something and eventually unpack the box that it's in.  I have all the essentials unpacked.  That's the most important thing, right?

So far Chesapeake gets a 6 out of 10.  Walmart is close, Target is close, a mall is close, and most exciting Sean is close!  I know that this is where God wants me and I know that I will grow to enjoy Chesapeake the more I get plugged in and don't spend almost every waking hour in my apartment.

"God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful." 1 Corinthians 1:9