Back to Chi-town

So, I finally made it back to Chicago on January 4th after 2 cancelled flights from KCI. I was actually really thankful that I was delayed getting back up there because I got to spend more time with family and it was so wonderful. Uncle Steve (and Corky the dog!) came and rescued me from the airport on Thursday, and went to a dinner theater that night! Friday was relaxing/blogging/shopping and then the Lippe's came over for supper and games. Then on Saturday I left for real. It was so fun to spend a little more time with my extended family, it was good for my soul. And they actually were excited to have me there too! Win win.

Sunday, my pastor from home and his wife (Dick and Evana) were in the area, so they stopped by my place to say hi and chat for a little bit. It was really fun to see them again and introduce them to my roomies.

Dick said "Wow, honey! We might even make 'THE BLOG'!" Congrats, Dick and Evana. You're pretty much famous.

Unfortunately, life back in Chi-town has not been the easiest for me. The first week back wasn't bad. It was wicked cold Monday and Tuesday, so I was able to work from home on Monday for Grace Seeds and had the day off Tuesday since school was cancelled. The rest of the week went pretty well until Friday night. Oh, and I lost my phone on Wednesday of that week. haha. But I got a new one Friday morning.

I had to call my dad from the Verizon store to get verification or whatever, and I could kind of tell he'd been having a rough morning just from the way he sounded when he answered the phone. (turns out the water line froze at home and Rosie was not doing so hot) Anyway, 

he told me to call them later. I did call, but unfortunately not until I was on the train heading downtown with my roomies. That’s when Dad told me that Rosie passed away.

Rosie has been my best pal since April 9, 2002; my 11^th birthday. She was the best birthday present ever. I showed her in 4-H, took her hunting, and played with her most every day when I lived at home. She was my best pal. When no one else understood, she did. She was patient and kind and loving even when I was not. I could come home from a stressful semester in college, pet her for five minutes (and maybe cry a little bit) and suddenly life didn’t seem so bad.

First picture taken of me and Rosie, on my 11th birthday.

Last picture taken of me and Rosie. Can you see the love on my face?

So, I was on the train when I got the sad news, and I lost it for a little bit. Maybe I didn’t totally lose it, but I definitely cried. Slightly embarrassing. Anyway, Megan and Billy were very nice about it and let the girl with the puffy eyes and tear-stained cheeks tag along anyway. We ate at one of our favorite places and then went to DQ for more comfort food.  :)

 

The next couple weeks were pretty tough for me. Losing Rosie made me reeeeally sad. Yet, I was also dealing with some other sad stuff. I won't get into the details, but it was a hard time for me. I've been reading Isaiah 61 pretty much daily which has been so great. Anybody have a favorite passage of scripture you'd recommend? 

The day after Rosie went up to heaven, Billy and I went to the Josh Abbott Band concert at a local bar. JAB is one of my favorite bands so I was super pumped. We also met some of Chelsea's seminary friends there so it was a pretty good time :)

 

For their encore, they played "She Will Be Free" which I love. It makes me feel....free. Anyway, they played it because January is Human Trafficking Awareness Month. Whoa. Just when I was feeling so sorry for myself about losing Rosie (which I do think is pretty legitimate sadness) I got a nice wake-up call. My life may not always be perfectly easy and void of pain, but it really is compared to what some people go through. I have no idea what it's like to be sold into slavery and abused on so many levels.Yet I even have no idea what it's like for people right here in this city. People are homeless, addicted, abused, hungry, unemployed, hopeless..... the list goes on.

Some days I feel like the world is so broken it's beyond repair. I'm just one little person wondering what I can possibly do. I feel like I do what I can for the most part, but it will never be enough. Some days it's hard to stay motivated.

I need help. I need prayers. I'm so thankful for your encouragement so far and hope that we can stay in touch better. Send me an email (sentsc@gmail.com) and we can correspond that way or I can send you my mailing address. I would really love to hear from any of you!

*Disclaimer: I am not totally depressed. Things have been getting better! For instance, I have had ice cream twice this week and baked last night :) And yesterday at the school was really good! And I got to see my sissy this weekend! (I'll write more about that later)

Sending warm love from chilly Chicago!