Salem: Place of Rest

We are still in Salem.  My optimistic post regarding our truck last Friday turned out to be a pipe dream.  We have now replaced all the tires, shocks, brakes, little o-ring thingies in the fuel injector, bearings, and joints.  Plus an oil change.  We've spent more on our truck in the last week than my husband makes in two months.  Now that's a bit of a sticker shock!  The good news is that the truck is running and feeling great.  Anybody have any wood to knock?

Yet we still wait in Salem.  We decided to get some things repaired on the RV that are under warranty and the parts are ordered but not here yet.  Donald is also trying to get his six month check up with the VA hospital in Portland so we can cross that off our short to-do list.  Interesting that we hauled tail so quickly from Tucson up through California only to come to a grinding and expensive halt in Oregon.

Salem is in the lushly verdant Willamette Valley, through which the Willamette River flows, virtually all fruit and vegetables grow and wineries abound.  This is a peaceful and productive valley.  Last night we found out that Salem means place of rest.  We are resting in this place.  We are resting in the company of old and new friends.  We are visiting churches.  We are resting in the confidence that God is at work here in Salem.  Doing what, we are unsure.  And so we rest and, there's that word again, wait.

"The Lord is my shepherd; he makes me want for nothing.  He makes me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside calm waters.  He restores my soul. . ."