I am thinking of the Chinese blessing and curse: "may you live in interesting times." Right now that would pretty much describe where I am. I am very excited about several things today: my fiancee is coming to visit on Tuesday, our wedding is coming up, I’m starting a new job, and I’m moving to a new area. I’m very happy about these new events.

However, a lot of stress is also building. The lady from the house I want hasn’t called me back yet and my job starts in about 3 weeks. I am a much better "stayer" than "mover" too. I enjoy new experiences, but I extremely dislike having to pack everything up and move. Maybe it’s because since 2002 I’ve lived in 4 different places and I’ve gotten mighty tired of packing up U-hauls.

Regarding my marriage, immigration is going faster than expected, but dealing with immigration still adds a degree of stress. I just long to be settled down, married, and doing what I want to do with my job. I want to be done with apartment hunting, done with immigration, and done with moving!

I’ve been trying to say the act of hope frequently throughout the day. During stressful time, it’s easy not to have hope. I found a beautiful act of hope by St. Augustine of Hippo, which I’ll share in my next post. Anyway, I’m very excited about Carmel coming! Long distance relationships are tough and these are the best times! Please keep our situation, including housing, in your prayers.