Relating in the US

It has been a wonderfully long week, we have travelled to the US, started in on our shopping and have had some fun too.

We arrived in Longview Monday afternoon and had to go out the next day to buy some clothes for the kids. Got some used clothes, or second-new, as we say in Nigeria. The next day I realized I needed some clothes too and of course we found more for the kids and a run to Goodwill provided a few more things. Then there were garage sales yesterday and today; no wonder we're tired!

Today we went to the annual international festival at the community college. It was a lot of fun for the kids and mom and I enjoyed it too. Afterwards we dropped Annette off at a friend's house. She and Annelise have stayed connected over the past three years. Annelise's family used to live down the street from where my parents used to live.

After the rest of us got home Daniel started playing with the boys next door, Nat rode around on the bike loaned to Annette and he found a bike helmet at a nearby garage sale. Then Daniel went for a bike ride with the neighbor boy and his father, Mom went off to a friends, and an aqaintance from my high school days stopped by with his family. Mark and I recently connected on Facebook and I realized our kids were close in ages. (I am so thankful the kid's have all gotten bikes.)

After a short visit they took Nat to thier house for a few hours. Then Daniel and I went for a walk (found a the garage sale Nat had gone to). Daniel ended up back at his friend's house and after Mom got home I actually managed to get a short nap. I really needed it since I got up at 4:20 today. (The only time I can have any quiet time is before the kids wake.)

Now it is nearly bedtime. Daniel fell asleep around 7:30, Annette got home soon after, and Nat was home before 9:00. They all had fun and it was really good to see them connecting with other kids.

All in all, it was a good day and there were lots of fun moments for all of us. It is so nice to be here with Mom (and my nephew that lives with her). Life here is wonderfully predictable in so many, many ways that it is hard to explain. From the reliable electricity to the way people drive and relate to each other. I find the connections with family, friends, church people we have seen in town and people we cross paths with in shops...all the connections have been heart-warming and refreshing to me.

At the same time, I stay connected on the phone and internet with family back in Nigeria and colleagues and past students on Facebook. I have so much to be thankful for over the past week; journey mercies, reconnecting with family and friends, and in the way the kids and I have been able to adapt to life here. God is good!

Family

Family is on my mind a lot these days. November is an important month for my family as both Nat and Annette were born in this month. Today is Annette's birthday and Nat's was two weeks ago. Both had parties the day before with their friends and classmates.

This month I've been thinking of my parents and siblings too as my mom is preparing to sell the home I grew up in and called home for forty years. When I was in the house last January, after my father died, I "said goodbye" and knew I would not return.

Goodbyes are never easy; losing loved ones, seeing ones children growing up and losing their innocence (Nat becomes a teenager next year!), constantly seeing students graduating or returning to their home countries, and the list goes on. I've never been so social that I quickly make friends, and yet these past years in Nigeria seeing so many come and go has made it even harder to connect when I know that I might have to say goodbye in a relively short time.

It's a good thing I deal more with the here and now or I'd suffer from homesickness much more often than I do. Though I guess I am feeling more homesick than usual this past week. There was a group of Lutherans from the US here at the guesthouse for a few days, and I really missed not having time to connect more with them. It wasn't until they left that I realized how nice it was to connect with people from the church I grew up in; my Lutheran roots run pretty deep.

I guess that's one of the reasons why my faith is so important to me. In Luke 7:11-17, we read how Jesus reached out and physically touched a widow's dead son in an effort to bring the boy back to life and relieve the mother's suffering. In verse 13 Jesus spoke to the widow-mother and said, "Don't cry!" He reached out to her, not in pity or because he was uncomfortable or annoyed by her tears, but because Jesus stands for life. Anything related to death greives him deeply.

Jesus constantly and consistently showed compassion for those that came to him. I know for myself that His compassion and never-ending love is something that I need greatly.

I grew up in a family that hugged a lot, but that form of expression is not common in traditional Nigeria so I am fortunate that my kids are good huggers; Daniel and Annette are very affectionate and now and then I can still get a hug out of Nat and my husband has learned that sometimes I just need a hug.

Over the years there have been times when I have just had to reach up and claim a hug from my Father God and amazingly, I have always felt his overwelming love be returned. May you too claim and be touched by His love!