A New Beginning

In March of 2000 we loaded up the moving truck and headed for Chicagoland and the Union Church of Hinsdale.  The early indications from UC had been all we could have hoped for and more.  They had secured us a house (above) in the neighboring village of Clarendon Hills that we liked very much.  The basement of the house was as big as our entire house in High Point, and it was in a great community within walking distance of the elementary school.  Will would enter kindergarten in August, so the school was very important to us.  It was rated one of the top school districts in the country.  In addition to the house, they had paid for the movers and had also given us money with which to purchase new furniture.  Our new master bedroom and living room were loaded on the truck without ever being unpacked.  This was definitely a new beginning.

The people of UC had also given me reason to expect great things.  David Knecht (head of the Search Committee) had remained in close contact with us throughout the months preceding the move.  Others from the committee and church staff had called to offer their help and support.  The Senior Pastor at UC, Dick Nye, had called me at the office one day identifying himself to our secretary as Martin Luther.  She buzzed me and told me Martin Luther was on the phone.  Dick and I had a good laugh about that one.  It was clear to Marilyn and I that we were taking a major step up from The Pastor Who Shall Not Be Named, and there was great joy in our hearts because of that.  To top it all off, I would be arriving just a few weeks before the previously scheduled Work Tour 2000, a senior high mission trip to Dungannon, VA.  I would be able to jump right in and spend some serious time with my new students over Spring Break.  I was so psyched...

After the moving truck hit the road we spent the night at my parent's home in Leesburg, FL.  I would leave and drive our car up the over the next few days, meeting the movers in Clarendon Hills three days after they left.  Marilyn and Will would stay with Gigi and Pawpaw (as Will called them) a few days and then fly up after I had the furniture moved in.  I took a leisurely drive up, spending nights in Nashville and in northern Indiana before reaching my destination. 

It was so odd to be in a place and not know where anything was.  Even getting from the house to the church required asking for directions, and it was only 5 miles.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered there were no 7-11 stores.  I spent most of the time setting up the house, but I did go in and visit with the staff and check out my new office.  I had serious "buyers remorse" while sitting in my tiny office, with no closet, no computer and none of my own stuff.  The youth ministry books on the shelves had been cutting edge in 1980.  The walls were barren.  But all of that could be easily remedied.  I was ready to go.  I was ready to start "fixing" the student ministry.  I was going to go to work and invite God to come along for the ride.  Which is a really backwards way to do ministry...

The little bit of  sadness I was experiencing in encountering all of the newness of Hinsdale would turn out to be NOTHING compared to what my family was going through back in Florida.  That story will be told on Friday, and forget the tissues for this one.  You'll need a roll of Bounty- the quicker picker upper!  See you then.

Because of Jesus,