Creighton University Here I Come!

Ok, so I haven't posted in a while, but life has been stressful! The kind of stress where you pull out your hair, gain or loose so much weight it's unhealthy, spend sleepless nights watching stupid infomercials cause there is nothing else on and you've seen everything on On-Demand, and where everything everybody says just rubs you the wrong way for no reason at all. Yeah, I've had that kind of stress. First, let's review: Last year I was wait-listed at Creighton University but was first on the list, and I was told that every year somebody drops out. Guess what, nobody did. So I had to wait another year, apply to several colleges again, and wait for interviews. I applied to University of Arizona (wait-listed), Regis University (accepted), and Creighton University (wait-listed). So we were praying that I would get into Creighton because it is an online program, and we could stay at home, the kids could stay in their schools, and we wouldn't have to move. We waited to hear from Creighton about the wait-list. And waited... So I called and asked questions, and I called and reminded them why I would be a good choice, and I called to tell them to pick me! Anyway, to make a long story short, I was somewhere around the eighth person on the wait-list (no chance right). We put our house on the market, we cleaned out all the stuff that cluttered the house, and we started packing. The week before Welcome Week at Creighton I called again, and I was told on Tuesday, "There is not much of a chance for you to be picked off the wait-list. If I were you, I would plan on moving to Denver and go to the school that accepted you." The comment wasn't cold or malicious, it was said so I wouldn't have any false hopes about getting in. I mean, look what happened last year, so why did I think I would ever get in.

Then I started saying and texting a two-word phrase to my wife, "Mustard Seed." It comes from Matthew 17:20, and the scripture goes like this: He replied, "Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you." The last time I said that to Allison was when Madison was in the hospital and we didn't think she was going to make it and were planning on taking her off of the ventilator, but we told everybody that we wanted to the night so our pastor could be there. Allison's mom asked me if there was anything we could do, and I simply replied, "Have faith," and continued walking down the hallway. I remember that night talking with Allison, and I said that if having the faith of a mustard seed can move a mountain, it can definitely heal a lung that tiny.

"Mustard Seed"

(Picture courtesy of Joanna Willis's blog:http://joannawillis.wordpress.com/2010/12/08/stirring-up-my-mustard-seed-faith/)

But I digress. Tuesday I was told I had no hope, so we started kicking it into high gear to prepare our move from Washington state to Colorado. Friday morning I woke up with a full morning of errands and things I needed to get done for Regis, and then I was leaving for work at 11 am. My phone rang sometime between 8:30-9:00 (it's all really a blur now), but I didn't run up the stairs fast enough to answer the phone. Voicemail. Fine, I guess I'll listen to the voicemail now. I did. Then I freaked out! Then I replayed it on speaker for Allison, and she yelled at me, "Call him back you idiot! I don't need to hear the rest of the message!" Basically the message went as followed, "Gregg... Well, I guess I'm a liar, because I told you you had no chance of getting in, but here I am calling you with a one hour deadline to return my call..." (That's when Allison called me an idiot - and rightly so). To make this not so short story not so long, I was in my car about 12 hours later driving the 1,800+ miles from my house to Creighton University in Omaha, NE, for a Welcome Week and a week of labs. So, I am sitting in my living quarters (actually not too bad) waiting for my day to start tomorrow at 7 am local time (I lost 2 hours driving east). I guess amazing things can happen when your faith is measured in a mustard seed.