Never Ever Dull
With every conversation, I always seem to end with "Never a dull moment"....our lives are rich, complex, and beautiful stories. Join me in laughing about everyday things and appreciating life-bumpy roads and all.
"I told you to get this tank checked, " he barked at me in his thick Russian-esque accent. I lifted my head and tried to nod but didn't want him to see the stinging tears already welling in my eyes. I couldn't bear to hear him talk to me like that. It was the Roto-Rooter guy. I had summoned him again to help me out with our septic tank, one of the many problems on my gotta-fix-now-as-in-yesterday list of major troubles. A week or two had gone by and I still hadn't called to change our septic and connect it to the city's sewer system. All our pipes were cracking and falling apart. They were 100 years old and this septic professional had given me a huge lecture about the situation.. I was frustrated. Yes, I now had come to the realization that the 1912 arts and crafts home that had good bones also had a plethora of major problems: plumbing, no a/c upstairs, absolutely no insulation, no working appliances,... and I could go on and on. The kids and I moved into a home we'd never seen and we were left there to figure things out for ourselves. Four kids, a golden retriever who had a disorder that made her wiggle while she walked, and a three-legged cat named Tripod.were in this with me. It was an odd time to say the least. My marriage had taken a bizarre turn and ended and we were in a house that even Chip and Joanna from Fixer Upper would've just bolted off the set shaking their head at the obvious problems. I felt like my life was in shambles outwardly and inwardly. I went off everybody's radar. I only talked to two or three people. I couldn't share the turmoil of what I was living through with this house and in my heart.. I struggled with what was real and not real in my marriage. I look back at photos taken of me and see eyes are empty.. I was very lost and searching. And I as was doing this, I gutted and restored this home. During that time, I came across a quote from CS Lewis that talked about God changing us as if we were a house. That quote resonated with me because I got it from the workmanship perspective. I had to peel back layer upon layer of linoleum on the kitchen floor. Similarly, I was having to peel away the plans I had firmly cemented in my brain. Plans that carefully detailed each step of the rest of my life. Just as I removed several layers of vinyl, I saw a glimpse of wood. Not just any wood, heart pine planks. A true find in a renovator's world. I was inspired to keep up the demolition work and then to shine those boards until they gleamed. They were there the whole time but so much had covered up their beauty. I began to see God changing my life in ways that I can't explain. I was totally gutted inwardly and that was an incredibly difficult time for me. Yet, God was creating a new work in me and as scripture says: He will be faithful to complete it. No one wants to go through the gutting and demolition process. It's painful. Yet, I am thankful for those steps. All along the way, I gave up more and more of the way I wanted things to go and surrendered to His beautiful plan. I just wanted to patch things up and be content with a simple cottage...but He has bigger plans I think I'm on my way to being a mansion. =) "Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on; you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make any sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were being made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
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AuthorFun-loving mom to 4 kids and 1 big puppy. Fifth grade teacher of amazing little people who have never ending things to share with me. Love to discuss Jesus, diy projects, and life. Trying to keep it simple: Love Jesus, love people. Archives
December 2021
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