“I keep my eyes always on the Lord.
With God at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” Psalm 16:8
Over the summer my wife, my mother-in-law, a handful of movers, and I made the journey from Chicago to Madison as my wife, Andrea, and I began the next phase of our lives. She started a medical residency and I started my Internship year of Seminary, the last thing I need before graduating and becoming a Lutheran pastor. We left Chicago around midday with two cars packed with more stuff than we realized we had, and the promise that a moving truck would bring our furniture over the next few days.
We got to Madison and began the unpacking process, staying in a hotel since our bed was with the movers. We spent our time keeping busy with finding places for all the little things we had in the cars and taking prolonged breaks to watch Making the Cut (a fashion design competition show that I quickly became very opinionated about). Eventually the movers came with all of our big things and we suddenly had decisions to make about couch placements. Oh the joys of moving!
What is funny to me in recalling these events is that the entire time we were in the full swing of COVID-19. The entire event was done in a mask and we were distanced from the movers and hotel workers and we ate our meals delivered. As the school year begins this fall, I am wondering how all of the student move-ins are going. Does it feel mundane and ordinary? Is it wracked with fear and hesitancy, knowing that quarantine or going home could be any day? Or is moving the least of concerns when there is so much else going on in the world and in our lives?
It can feel overwhelming to even consider everything, or the stress of everything gets concentrated into where a lamp will be. When life feels this way, I try to find a way to become calm, reset my brain, and find a connection to God. To fill myself spiritually with the strength to keep going. Whether it is prayer, meditation, art, or spending time with loved ones watching fashion television, it is important to remember to rest in times of wild transition. And also that God is with us the entire way.
Peace
Vicar Leif
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