“A great oak is only a little nut that held its ground.” ~ Abraham Lincoln, from one of Ivy’s library books, Imogene’s Last Stand

Our new house was a foreclosure and a good deal. I would tell everyone to get into the market to buy a house, the only problem is the house you already own… like our house in Augusta, which we rented rather than take a monster loss! Still our new house is amazing. It is bigger and nicer than anything we could imagine being able to afford. It is a house we feel like we could live in until we retire. The house is so nice it seems we are required to have a certain type of mail box… yes, I live in a mail box exclusive neighborhood.

I am not sure what becoming a mail box snob says about our family. But I do know that it is a hassle. The box cost twice as much as a nice mail box from Lowe’s and it had to be special ordered. Which meant we had to wait. And it strange not getting mail at your new house. I kept worrying the water would be cut off because I had not paid our bill – which gives you some insight into my nuttiness, because we were only without a mail box for two weeks!

Finally the mail box arrived and I took it outside to install. I say install, because this was not a box on a post in the ground. Instead it was multiple metal pieces linked and screwed together. All bolted onto a base of concrete. As I was getting this together a neighbor stopped by to introduce himself. He retold his mail box hassles and let me know nearly everyone’s had to be repaired. After he left I tightened the bolts on the base and crack, the metal base split. Which is not surprising considering my 22inch biceps… oh wait – Ah, the quality craftsmanship of a snob’s mailbox!

Afterward I went through the process of changing my address with the bank and bill companies. I also changed my address with the post office from my parents house to our new address in Kearney. The final question if my family was moving with me – of course the girls are coming…

… But, as you can see form the picture below my family is more than Megan and the girls. It seems my parents also made the move – at least in the eyes of the Post Master General! So yesterday I started receiving their mail and they got a postcard stating their house was now vacant!!

Life can be a hassle. The little things can quickly stack up and make us go nuts. But being a nut is not always such a bad – if we are crazy enough to set aside all the world’s worries. God knows we have to deal with this day to day junk, but in doing so we need to stay focused on His arriving Kingdom. Check out Matthew 6:25-34. Focused on His purposes everything we face will work out. I am not writing that we will avoid all troubles, because we will face all kinds of obstacles: from the little things – mail boxes – to the huge – cancer. But in each event God has a the final word. And His word is always one to save, for both this life and the one to come…