on being glad to be wrong

i was wrong.  and i'm so glad.  move-in day was like the days i gave birth in that it was one of the most exhilarating and exhausting days of my life, but it was not one of the most painful.  i'm sorry, but besides a few necessary tears, it was one of the most joyful experiences of our lives.

the weekend was full of so many blessings.  erica and lauren are both blessed with wonderful roommates, whom they had never met.  lauren has two roomies, megan and shay, and they are as sweet and delightful as they can be.  erica's roommate, danielle, is also a transfer student, and they could not be more beautifully suited to share the daily joys and messes of each other's college lives.  all three families had both parents there to help their daughters move in.  and each family seemed to be very close and committed to God.

it's hard to describe all that happened during those two days.  they were busy and rich with meaning and purpose.

  the first day, we got to go to chapel in the gym, where we heard the campus pastor speak and were led in worship by their own worship band.   the final day ended with a service of commitment that made our spirits soar. the faculty marched in wearing their robes of academia and sat in the front of the gymnasium floor. the students sat in chairs that filled the rest of the gym floor, parents and siblings surrounding them in the bleachers.  there was a specific charge and prayer given for each group of people:  faculty, students, parents.  each group recited its own litany, committing themselves to the tasks ahead and asking for God's guidance.  it was powerfully cool.

after two days of gatherings like these, of unloading boxes and crates, hanging clothes, hooking up printers, making runs to Bed Bath & Beyond, we left, smiling through our tears.

it's just so hard to be too sad when this is exactly where they should be.  

(okay, so it also didn't hurt that we got to talk to them the next day on ichat. God bless the Mac!)