It’s like the sugar on the candy for my stuff.

My brain is a mite bit foggy, so please don’t hold me accountable for whatever you find in this entry. (Unless it’s really good!) We pulled into our driveway around 2:30 AM this morning, having left Chicago yesterday morning. We didn’t get a super-early start, because we thought we’d take two days to come home. But then we just decided to go for it. Seventeen hours of driving. Hotel beds get a little tiresome after a while, though, and we just didn’t have the heart to stop at yet another one.

It was so great being with Luke the past few days. He loved his time in the wilderness. He is pretty much settled at Wheaton, and I would say that he is most definitely rakishly handsome in that environment. The ladies will be all up ons.

Enjoyed meeting some of Luke’s new friends. They are awesome. Great place. Great people. Great everything. I could talk about lots of stuff we did. Here are just a few highlights.

Some really fun laughing times. One of the few things that is as good as enjoying a hearty laugh is watching someone you love enjoy a hearty laugh. On Monday, we rode the Metra into Chicago from Wheaton, and we decided to pretend we were British. It was George’s idea, but I was pretty sure he couldn’t pull off the accent. So we asked him to try it. What came out was sort of Elmer Fudd meets James Bond. “Weyuh Bwitish!” Oh man. We gave up the notion, though some of us used the accent (not EF meets JB, but a more realistic one) from time to time. We went to the top of the Sears Tower, and then later, Grace and Luke had a mock-Brit conversation comparing the tower’s size to other objects. Completely random and ridiculous. With utter seriousness in tone and expression, they considered the tower to be taller than objects as imposing as, oh, a boot, a burger (even with condiments), a baseball . . . discussing each in detail.

We went into a building that was formerly the Chicago Library. Amazing architecture, mozaic tile everywhere, indescribable really. It’s a museum now. We saw an exhibit of black and white photographs. Very moving. Scenes of poverty and war in Africa, South America, etc.

We walked for miles, bombarded with the sights, sounds, and smells of the big city. Homeless people begging for money. Yuppies on cell phones. Thronging humanity. At one point, we came upon an old stone building covered with ivy. It was a church, and a pathway led to a quiet, grassy courtyard with a fountain in the middle. Almost like magic, the sounds on the city sidewalk seemed to disappear when we entered. A sooty starling bathed luxuriously in the fountain, using a pipe near the surface of the water as a perch. Sparrows hopped about our feet as we sat on the steps watching. Even the birds seemed to know it was a sanctuary. Around the top of the stone fountain, engraved eternal words declared “The knowledge of the glory of the Lord will cover the earth as the waters cover the sea.” I love that verse. I loved its meaning in that place.

Of all the impressions, all the emotions, all the significance of the trip, a few thoughts remain in the forefront of my mind: how much I love the people in my life; how thankful I am for God’s mercy and favor; how great is the delight of those who walk through life holding firmly to His hand. Even if I find myself in a big city in a big country on a big planet in a big universe, He knows my thoughts and the number of hairs on my head.

So. I go into tomorrow, content for today, and thankful for yesterday. I go with anticipation but without demands. And right now, I go to bed. Good night all. Peace be with you. ♥ EZ