Our plans were made. It was in 'ink' on the calendar. The excitement was building as the week progressed. We were going to Greenfield Village. The place we were headed last year when my dear husband took a fall which lead to months and months of pure agony due to the main ligament in his ankle being severed.
When I called my mother-in-law to see if she and some of our other relatives wanted to join us, I didn't realize at the time that the actual date was exactly one year from 'the fall'. I thought, when my brain caught up and it actually sunk in, what an appropriate way to spend the day.
As it turned out, the Friday before we were suppose to go, the township building inspector was to come out and give his final approval of the furnace room work that was done earlier this year. Well, needless, to say he was here for approximately 30 seconds to look in there, see what he saw and give me an 'F' or perhaps it should just be a big ol' red 'D' for deny.
What do you suppose he saw in our newly drywalled, painted and spit-shined furnace room? A flood, I tell you. What he saw was a flood. Apparently, my water heater decided to leak from all the seals around the top of the water heater and had been for quite some time. The drywall and the floor were soaked.
After I sat on the couch letting that bit of information sink in, it occurred to me that perhaps my 'growing season' was not quite over or in remission yet. Oh, how I dreaded calling my husband to give him the wonderful news. After calling him, he decided to call the company that was organizing all the repairs on our home over the past year to see if perhaps it could have been damaged during the removing and the putting back because we have had absolutely no problems with it until now. I was holding on to that hope.
After two estimates from two different plumbers, the conclusion was that there is no way to prove how it broke and that it probably was just wear. You know, Madame, this is an old water heater. Who would have thought that a seven year old water heater was old? Well, now I know. I also know that it's going to take a whopping $600 to fix it. Oh, that doesn't include the permit they are going to need to do so. (and of course, it doesn't cover the damage to the floor and wall either).
You may be wondering about Greenfield Village. The outing was canceled due to mental and emotional breakdown. A future date may be set if and when I crawl out from under my covers. In the meantime, as I was driving past a church the other day, praying that God would help my mental state, I looked up to see a sign on a church which reminded me that I can, indeed, crawl up on my Daddy's lap and He will take care of it. This is what it said:
There is no darkness in the light of the SON
I must admit that I've been throwing a bit of a temper tantrum since all this happened. I am mentally and emotionally tired from all that has been thrown at us this past year. Sometimes I wonder if one of my family members is going to have to run for that dustpan and broom to sweep up the ash, after I've been zapped for my poor thoughts and for my utter misbehaving. But that hasn't happened yet and it got me to thinking. Why, as a long time Christian, can't I sometimes grab hold of or remember simple truths and promises that God gives me. I love to encourage other people who are struggling and remind them how much hope God offers us in his word but when it comes to myself...well that is a different story. Does this make me a hypocrite???
I suppose this is where God's precious loving GRACE is applied. Believe it or not, inspite of my poor behavior, He does and continually loves me through it. And despite my background, He is not always there 'at the ready' to zap me a good one. As my dear husband says, it is just another wonderful opportunity to see a blessing from God played out in our lives.
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