Pokin It 10 1 11 - Rabbit Rabbit!

Radiators

There are certain "fun house" elements inherent in living in the housing at LSTC. Part of the fun is the age of the buildings themselves, rumored to have been the housing for the workers at the World's Fair. There are certain "sticky" doors that have multiple layers of white paint. There are floors with a definite tilt to them. This week's adventure: radiators turning on.

It's that awkward time of year before it is really cold but when fall weather is cool enough to find you curling up in a fetal ball underneath layers of blankets. Okay, maybe that's just me and my love of being under heaps of covers...

Regardless, fall is in the air. I'm finally getting into the rhythm of the semester and checking things off my endless to do lists. I've stocked up on groceries and toilet paper and ink cartridges. My roommates and I finally got internet, put up pictures on the walls, and rolled out the rug in our front room. They've also figured out my great dislike of doing dishes and my love of dancing around the place.

With the humm and buzz of the radiator coming on and warming us up, this place is finally feeling like home again. Aptly, I am curled up in a ball under my covers as I type this. LSTC housing may not be perfect but it makes a darn good place to call home.

I really needed this week's session of Christian Life Community (CLC) and some delicious soup.
After a bowl of amazingly warm and satisfying chicken noodle soup with a piece of sun-dried tomato bready goodness (I can't actually remember what it was called), we met in our smaller groups. I don't know what other groups discussed, but in ours we talked mostly about personal issues adjusting to the community at LSTC. There were some boundaries that hadn't been broken down yet and it was good to really put whatever was on our minds in the open. I certainly came away feeling better and a little more confident in where I was at the time.

We talked about one thing that I think will stick with me for a very long time. One of the people in the group brought up how on the road to seminary she said she had felt God driving her all the way and that now she doesn't feel the same pull anymore, like God "dropped her off at day care" and that was really bothering her. Another member of the group replied that, "maybe it means that's where you're supposed to be". I was astonished by the idea. I had been feeling similarly and hearing her say that was important. After 4 weeks, the shine of the semester begins to wear off. Routines are established, friend circles are beginning to form, classes give out more work, and sometimes people are led to ask, "Where is God in all of this again?"

My answer this week is that God was in our small group session at CLC, comforting us and telling us it's alright to be where we are. It's natural and okay to doubt the roads we are on (like faith as well, I think) because it makes us pay attention to the other traffic conditions and, ultimately, we become better drivers. Personally, I'd much rather have better drivers on the road, especially in Chicago :)
Until next Friday!