His joy's gonna be my strength ...

I moved my books out of the office at church today. It was really difficult. The pictures, the cards, the letters ... the memories. St. Mark's has changed my life and shaped my calling as much as Lakeshore at this point. Leaving this place and these kids just breaks my heart. I want to move on, and I definitely want to be in a different place and go to school. But can't I take them with me? I know that this is where God is calling me, and I want to follow. But, much like leaving Lakeshore for my last summer, it's difficult to leave behind the places and the people who have helped make me who I am. I'm having some of the same mixed feelings as I had at the end of summer 2005. I know I'm doing the right thing, and I am unbelievably excited about it, but it doesn't make leaving any easier.

Sometimes you wanna go ...

One month. One month from today, I will officially be moved into Theology House, on the campus of Boston University, overlooking the Charles River, a block or two from Fenway Park, in the heart of Boston, Massachusetts. Wow.

And they're always glad you came ...

Exactly one month from today I'll be entering the city, making my way through the amalgamation of streets, rail lines, and majestic architecture they call Boston, Massachussetts. The whole idea of people actually living in a place like Boston is still unreal to me. You visit Boston -- no one from Middle-Of-Nowhere, Tennessee, actually goes there to spend more than a week or two. I see all of these people I went to high school with who have actually gone off to college, but they end up back in Dyersburg after (much too often before ...) they graduate. They seem happy, and I guess that's how we end up with so many million-year-old families in one small town. But for me, that just seems so mundane, so boring, so easy. There is so much world out there, and I hate to break it to some folks, but Dyersburg ain't it. Don't get me wrong, growing up there was a blessing. But I spent over seven years of my life there. Seven of, maybe, 100. Seven percent of my life in the same house on the same acre of land. There is so much more world out there, and I've seen that part of it. Now I've seen the Murfreesboro and Nashville parts too. It's time to move on. Recent events are making that moving on a little easier. I've learned a lot about myself. I've learned even more about other people and how much the world really does suck. I've especially learned that being on the side of the truth and being honest and honorable don't always pay off, either. Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth, so they won't ask for it. Sometimes giving your whole life and self to something just isn't enough. Sometimes you just know that you're ready to move on.

One month, five days ...

It's getting closer and closer. Boxes are taking over my room. Maybe they'll pack themselves.