The Sad Closet

We are down to:

1 day of work at the office (for Todd)
2 suitcases left to pack
3 Sundays at our home church...

I would go on, but my clever play on numeric succession ends abruptly at 3 :) But trust me, the progress we've made today alone has been significant, I think. Our dressers are just about empty, and the closet looks really, really sad (which is a good thing). We've tried to whittle our wardrobes down to only a few outfits, counting on frequent trips to the washing machine. It felt nice to condense. I have bags of stuff to throw away and bags of stuff to pass along.

My super organized husband has spreadsheets on the computer outlining our suitcases and their contents. His idea, not mine. I'll be thankful later when I wonder what on earth we have buried down there. It gets a little complicated when you take into account our side-trip to Germany. We have a conference to attend there prior to heading out to South Africa, and the climates will be worlds (or at least a hemisphere) apart. Tonight, the catchphrase as we packed was things "we absolutely will not need in Germany."

So far we've run into a minor issue with our packing: it would seem that our luggage suffers from obesity. The airline weight limit is 50lbs and both of our packed bags exceed that...one by a little, one by a lot. If we were only embarking on a short excursion, the sticklers in us would be weeding out the expendables, but we're willing to pay the overage for a two-year term.


The mental countdown to takeoff is a bit...involuntary. I feel a little panicky sometimes when I think about how soon "it" will happen. Can I really only have a little (and I do mean a little) over two weeks here? It gets more real with every preparation we make.

I wonder...will the remaining days fly by, or drag?

It won't be long before I know :)

31 Days

I'm big into countdowns; have I told you that before? I am. Sometimes, I can't even help myself, I can't not know how many days I have left before _________ happens. Picking up my life and moving it to Africa is not an exception....obviously.

Today marks our one month remainder here in the states. We purchased tickets not too long ago and are set to depart for our conference in Germany on January 14th, my mother-in-law's birthday. No, we aren't doing that to her on purpose. Yes, we do have souls. But the conference begins on the 15th, leaving us with no choice. She's great, though. She's not taking it personally (on a side note, I feel really sorry for people who have lousy or non-existent relationships with their in-laws. You're missing out).

Speaking of this conference...I don't have a clue what it's all about. Not one clue. I do know that missionaries from all over the world will meet here and that our entire missionary "generation" will be sent out afterwards. That's kind of cool, right? I'll tell you that the next few months could be the reason we're going into missions. I am a details details details person, and I'm lacking in that department. No agendas, no highly informative emails or phone calls, no interactive FAQ forums I can participate in and scrounge up every ounce of "what-to-expect." Oh dear, folks. Meredith is in way over her head and she hasn't even left her corner of Tennessee.

Maybe I'm supposed to learn extreme flexibility. Actually, any flexibility would be extreme for me. Agendas, itineraries, packets, down-to-the-minute schedules, that's how I roll. Or rolled, I should say. The Holy Spirit may be about to perform some kind of -ectomy on my knowledge-dependent  self.

I'm trying to look at the bright side. Not knowing every detail of the day would probably keep me from being stressed out if something didn't go according to schedule, right? It would also keep my expectations (sometimes set unrealistically high) at bay, I suppose. It might even keep me focused on what was happening at the moment, rather than inspire my imaginative mind to wander to future events.  That one's a stretch, I grant you :)

The next few months will probably be a very focused exercise on trusting God, but most of life is that way. I think sometimes how unlikely a candidate I am for all this. If God had asked who I thought would be a better fit, I could have made some recommendations. Everything in me and about me screams "unqualified," or at the very least "poor choice," and I'm not just being modest. But regardless of how ill-equipped I feel I am, I can't deny what Peter tells us about ourselves (as Christians) in 2 Peter:

"His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness, through our knowledge of him  who has called us by his own glory and goodness" (1:3). 

God said it, so it's true. Even when it doesn't feel like it could possibly apply to me, I'm told that it does. 

Ok, enough of being thoughtful; I'd rather not end on a contemplative note. SO, on a completely unrelated topic, let me brag a bit on my fabulous husband who is now 23 years old (my baby's growing up...I can remember when he was 9!). Our birthdays are only two days (...ok, and a year...whatever) appart, and this year he bought me this beautiful, vintage, completely mechanical (a.k.a., no batteries) Ciro 35, 50mm camera! I practically begged him for a film camera, and he found this one with its leather case for a really great price (dare I say, almost cheap?) on eBay. 

I was thrilled :) 

I talked him into taking some pictures of me and the camera and he took the one of the two of us. Isn't he great? 

The leather case is so cool...you can shoot without taking the camera out. I think it also adds to the overall vintage feel :) 

This particular camera was only made for a period of approximately 7 years, I think, just before and after 1950. It's safe to say that it's about 60 years old. 

Focusing this beast is not easy...see that tiny slit beside the viewfinder? In order to focus the image, you look through that slit which is divided horizontally in the middle. You line up the top and bottom halves of the image by adjusting the lever below the slit. We'll see if I'm any good when we get the film developed.

Nothing like a little posed drama :) 

We wish you a very blessed and Merry Christmas :)