The Time In-Between

My weeks of being a traveler instead of a Fresno newspaper reporter or a Pennsylvania seminary student are ending.

I moved into my new place in Ambridge on Monday (with a lot of help from some Trinity students). I've spent the past several days organizing, scrubbing and generally trying to get the house in decent shape for my two housemates, who'll be moving in next week.

I'm enjoying this time. It's been a combination of slaying monster dust bunnies, searching for grocery stores and getting acquainted with the sounds of a house that's been around a lot longer than I have.

The OT readings in the Daily Office have been heartbreaking this week. The story of David's dysfunctional family doesn't always hit me like it did yesterday. Absalom did all his power to steal his father's crown, but that didn't stop David's anguish when Absalom was slain in battle against the king's forces.

Here's what David did when he heard the news:

"He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: 'O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you—O Absalom, my son, my son!'"

I think about all of the parents I've interviewed who have lived through the death (sometimes the murder) of a child. I think that must be one of the greatest pains in the world.