Adjusting to a New Way of Life

            Although we were tired, there was a good bit of excitement when we first arrived in Iowa.  As we drove into the city, there were mixed emotions.  For one thing there was flood of memories of the places and people we had known before.  On the other hand, we were shocked at witnessing the aftermath of the terrible flood that had covered roughly 100 blocks of the city just two months before.  Downtown looked like a ghost town.  It wasn’t the Cedar Rapids we had left 15 years before.

            The next morning Ann was simply too tired to make it to the church service, but Ruby, Rich, and I went.  It was good to see everyone, and we were graciously welcomed, but it really felt weird to me to sit in the back.  Rarely have I ever sat anywhere close to the back when I was out a church service.  Church is one of those places where the good seats are readily available.

            Ruby wanted to go out to eat at her favorite restaurant, a place called “Cork and Fork.”   After lunch we were blessed with a combination of church members and friends of Gary and Kelly coming to the house to make quick work of unloading the truck.  On Monday morning Ruby and Rich left for Colorado. Gary took the truck to the Penske place, and we began our new lives in Cedar Rapids.

            It was a traumatic experience for both of us.  In part it was a tremendous adjustment to living in the house with another family.  In part it was basically living in two rooms.  But for me the big adjustment was trying to figure out what to do with the rest of my life.  From day one, I had planned to look for part time employment, but I needed some time to help get everything organized.  All of my books and several boxes of other things were stacked up in the basement.   Nearly every day we would think of some item we needed, and of course it would always be in a box that was at the very bottom.

            Beyond that I felt like my life had been stripped of purpose.  I needed a reason to get out of bed in the morning.   For a little while I even started taking anti-depressants.  It was a very difficult time for me.

            Then one day Moe Colby, one of Central’s elders, talked to me about coming on board as a part time staff member.  I was a little bit like the person who said, “I need to pray about this. The answer is yes.”   I didn’t even say I needed to pray about it.  I had already been praying for direction.