I don't have to be happy, but it sure is nice.

I cannot help it: I just love this kitten. Natasha rules the apartment with her cuteness.

Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd. Matthew 9:36

I don't know about your house, but the Hooks household has been very, very busy lately. Language school, regular school, musical practice, and just every day living have filled up our time lately. Add in a little sickness in the last week and a trip to the American consulate to renew passports and you've got a VERY busy family. It's not a bad kind of busy, but it is a very busy kind of busy at the moment. And I'm guessing that while I'm still in language school, it will remain that way. I'm not complaining, though. We actually like busy, at least most of the time. We can get grouchy if we don't have anything to do. :)

Vienna is a very busy city--except on Sundays. EVERYTHING is closed on Sundays. Our neighborhood tends to be very quiet, anyway, and on Sundays, it's nearly silent. Now, when it's warmer, I think there will be more hustle and bustle on Sundays, not because anything will be open, but because we live between the Old Danube and the New Danube, and there is a really wonderful "river life" when it's warm. Lots of people, kids playing, pick up soccer and basketball games, and just strolling along the river can be seen at almost any given moment when it's warmer. But right now, when it's still pretty cool outside, it's nice and quiet on Sundays.

As I gauge how we're doing, where we are in our transition into a new city, a new country, and a new language, it's really the little comments that are signposts to me, rather than the big, "how are we doing" discussions. It's the offhand remark, the one that comes from the subconscious before we really think about it, that tells me where we are. And I'm going to be honest--where we are is a pretty good place. Yes, there are still things that we don't fully "get" about Austrian life, and our language learning is hard and takes a lot of our time, but all in all, I think we're where we should be in terms of transition. We have a church, the kids are settled in school, we're learning the language, we are making Austrian friends, we're figuring out the food (that's more important than you might think)...all in all, we're doing pretty well. I hear it in our conversations, when comments are made that include long-term plans for Austria. You know, things like, "In a few years, we'll..." It doesn't really matter what follows that ellipses, because the important part of that is the "few years" part. As a family, we have been in limbo for a long time, and it's been really difficult. But more and more, I hear us all feeling settled. And what's really nice is that includes Sarah Beth, who is really making a life for herself back in the States. It's nice. It's a good feeling to be happy, and I'm really grateful for it.

But here's the thing: happiness is not a requirement of this Christian life. There have been times overseas that we were dreadfully unhappy. Ask my parents and sisters about conversations that they had with us over the years where they hung up the phone and immediately started praying. But just because we were unhappy did not mean we were out of God's will or His plan for our lives. When I look back on those times of unhappiness, I know for certain that they were times in which God showed Himself to us in amazing ways, times in which we grew as followers of Christ by leaps and bounds. I'm not the same person I was five years ago. There is no way to be that person. I have seen too much and experienced too much. I have watched my family struggle. I have struggled. And I'm grateful for the struggle and the unhappiness just as much as I'm thankful for this moment of real happiness for us. I know that both--the good times and the bad--are gifts from the Giver of all good things.

So why focus on unhappiness during this time when it isn't much a part of our lives? Because I know from experience that the life of a believer is filled with both good times and bad, seasons of happiness and seasons of unhappiness. And it's good to make a checkpoint, to look over our stones of remembrance in the good times and bad, because it's a good reminder that our God is faithful in all times. And that faithfulness, His compassion and lovingkindness and mercy toward us--that's what really matters. Not my happiness or unhappiness. It turns out that even this is all about Him. And we make a terrible mistake when we think that if we are unhappy, it's because God is not pleased with us for some reason, that we've stepped outside His plan for us. Of course, there are times when that's true, when we've made an error, sinned against Him in some way, and unhappiness is the consequence of that. But our God is so good that even in these circumstances, He can use it for our good. I'm so grateful, aren't you?

Well, time to get moving here in the Hooks household. We are trying to manage our mornings calmly, now that I have to leave pretty quickly after the kids in order to get to German class on time. On a side note to those of you in our hometown of Middleburg, Florida--we are praying from Austria for all of you as you celebrate the life of the detective killed on Thursday. We are proud of the compassion shown by our home church as they host the funeral this morning, and we are--as always--proud to be from Clay County. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are experiencing a season of happiness, too, and that you are NOT struggling with how to say north, south, east and west in whatever language you speak. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye