The Last Five Days

Here is how we’ve spent the last five days . . .

Friday—Spent all day flying home from Pinebrook in northeast Pennsylvania.

Saturday—Helped Josh and Leah and Mark and Vanessa load their moving truck.

Sunday—Drove to Dallas.

Monday—Unloaded the truck.

Tuesday—Drove back to Tupelo.

On Saturday Joe and Becky spent time helping us load the truck. Nick had experience working for the “Two Men and a Truck” so he made sure everything was packed the right way and in the right order. As we drove through east Texas on Sunday afternoon, we saw a digital sign that said the temperature was 109 degrees. That made Tupelo seem cool. On Monday several of Mark’s friends from his days at Moody Bible Institute who now live in Dallas came by help us unload. Mark, Trevor and Chad made a huge difference. I told Marlene later that it was the first time in a long time—years, really—that I had been around seminary students, and it was fun hearing them give Josh tips about the classes he’s going to be taking this fall. In many outward ways the seminary has changed dramatically from when I attended 30+ years ago, and in other ways it hasn’t changed at all. The student body is certainly more diverse, students no longer have to wear coats and ties to class, the campus  is much larger and very modern, and the seminary offers a wide variety of degree programs. But the essentials are still the same, a fact made clear when I overhead a discussion about a certain Greek professor who is really tough. 

Driving back to Tupelo today felt like the end of one chapter of life and the beginning of another. You can’t help reflecting on the seasons of life at a time like this, and tonight as we were watching TV, Marlene called Vanessa who said that she and Mark had made menus and then she went to the grocery store. Most of the boxes have already been unpacked. Little things, one supposes, but it means that life in Dallas has started. 

Meanwhile we are delighted to be back home. And our basset hounds were glad to see us.