Getting "Normal"

I thought I'd throw in some pictures of "life" for us these days. No, we don't eat gelato on a daily basis, but the kids sure are excited that there's at least a possiblity for gelato every day. :) The second picture is a street near the center of town--Il Centro (pronounced "eel chentro"). It doesn't show the porticos that line Bologna, but it does look like a lot of the streets we see. The area we live in is a lot more residential and has a lot of big, beautiful trees. Bolognese call it The Green Area. Then there is our sweet Benjamin growing, growing, growing. He loves to stand up, is dying to actually be moving forward when he tries to crawl and is just about to get the sitting thing down. We can't believe he is already six months old. So much has happened in our lives during those six months!

Finally, there is a picture of something that is a daily part of our life--trips to a park. There are tons of parks located very close by. I guess since no one has a yard, they really value having parks available. We have tried out most we can quickly walk to, and this is our favorite. Every day after school (around 4:30), the parks are flooded. I think they are going to prove to be a great venue to meet people. Definitely a great opportunity for our kids to meet and play with other Italian bamini. The weather has been cool and mild for the most part, and the kids have relished time outside.

This week marks the first time I'm navigating life on my own with the kids since we arrived, as Cody is at a retreat for all the Campus Crusade staff (we call it Agape Italia) who are new to the country. It is going to be an incredibly infomative few days, and I wish we all could have gone. But it didn't seem prudent to take Hannah out of school the second week. So we're hanging back in Bologna.

Before Cody left, we talked about how we've reached a little milestone. . . we feel life we now know a new "normal." Life here takes a lot of work. Everything that is needed for daily living just requires a lot of time and work. It's amazing how many conveniences we enjoyed back in the States that we didn't even realize were conveniences. But we feel like we've made the shift. We're OK that we have to go to the grocery store every day, and that the trip usually takes about 1 1/2 hours. We're OK thinking creatively on how to haul our groceries for a family of five home. You don't get anything done quickly here, and we're adjusting. That's nice.

When it feels like the majority of my day is focused on just accomplishing what needs to be done to survive, I am so thankful that God has made even those things part of His work for me. In everything, I am reminded that it is all for the gospel. During the times I have absolutely not wanted to walk to the store for bread or milk or water, I am reminded that even that is for the gospel. Every morning I wake hungry for the Word of God to fill me. In a culture where I feel so foreign and inept, the power and truth of God's Word has nourished my soul in a way I haven't known for a long time. And during those times, God has so sweetly reminded me that the more Italian I can become (oh so FAR to go!), the more effectively I am going to be able to communicate the incredible hope and life that Jesus wants so desperately for this prodigal country to know. Every time I walk out our door, God opens the floodgates of compassion in my heart. I want to much for Italians to have HOPE. I want so much for them to know JOY. Life is so hard here, in so many ways. I want them to know rest.

And so it is that we are settling into normal and that in the normal, God is preparing us.