Life on the Road

Wow, what an exhausting week. Despite not having a job, I've kept myself pretty well occupied!

We left Houston last Wednesday, finally hitting the road out of town at about 8:30 or 9 am. We stopped several times - usually because I had to - and made it to the outskirts of Nashville around 9 pm. On the way there, Austin decided to give his boss for this project a call. He just wanted to let him know that we were driving up, and to ask where to go for his first day of work. Well, much to our surprise, his boss immediately started talking about us going to Cleveland. Now, the Wednesday and Thursday before we left, there was talk on going to Cleveland, which really freaked me out. I did not want to live in Cleveland, and I did not want to be there for two months without my stuff (funny, here I am). Friday things were "resolved" (read: confused) and we were told to get movers and head to Clarksville. Alright!

Well, Tuesday night at 10 pm when the movers had failed to send us a quote online, we decided to tell them the deal was off. So, we went to Clarksville with no movers and our stuff still in storage, which worked out pretty well when we found out we needed to go to Cleveland - my mom quickly pointed out how well that had worked out for us, and that God knew what He was doing when the movers fell through.

When we were driving to Tennessee, I cried. I cried the minute we left Texas, and periodically until we got to Tennessee. When Austin made that phone call, and everything changed, we were both shocked. Austin was so shocked he took his hands off the wheel and I had to make him pay attention and drive. We were both upset, and a million different questions and angry thoughts went through our minds. By the time he got off the phone, I had to change my demeanor. I knew that if I was mad, it wouldn't help the situation, so I tried to be positive and help him rather than bring him down.

We ate dinner with my family in Nashville Thursday night after exploring the town a bit, and we really had a great time. It was comforting to know that they would only be about an hour away when we would move to Clarksville, and that we got along with them so well!

We drove to Clarksville that night and stayed in a hotel, preparing ourselves to apartment hunt like mad on Friday. At the end, we found two we liked, one we wanted but wasn't large enough, and we just have to wait now - none of them know their September availability until August!

Saturday we went to a little market in downtown Clarksville before making the 10-hour trek to Cleveland. Finally, no matter how much I prayed and tried to stay positive, I cried about going to Cleveland (I'm such a baby..). I knew in my mind that the Lord had a plan for this trip, but I didn't feel it in my heart. All I felt was confusion and hurt that we couldn't just settle. I felt that this was God's way of preparing us to be ready and able to go where He wants, when He wants, despite our "stuff" - something that we need to be able to do no matter what, especially if we think we're called to go to Africa one day.

I'm still jobless, and occupying my time with couponing, Christmas shopping (I know..) and running random errands, but I know that the Lord has a plan here. We've already attended Gateway Church, which we like, and are eager to get involved here and meet some people. One of the hardest things was the 4th of July - if we were still in Houston, we would have had more than enough people to celebrate with, but here in Cleveland, we know no one. We went to a local fair that was a creepy carnival (flop!) and ended up with a coke slurpee watching Gnomeo & Juliet in bed.

Anyway, we're just hanging on somewhere between A & B, and waiting for the right thing to happen. It's been an adventure, and I know the dust isn't going to settle anytime soon! I'm so thankful for the love and support of our family, and glad that we aren't totally alone even when it seems like we are.

Love,

Elizabeth