Deluge

What word best describes the summer of 2013 for our little family?  There are many words that come to mind, but lately, "deluge" seems most fitting.

Our area has had one of the wettest summers in history.  Rain is not conducive to building a house.  One day of rain sets lot grading back at least two days.  So, here we are two months after we signed our initial contract to build the house, and the lot still hasn't been graded.  Well..we thought we had it ready for footings to be poured until our builder quit.  When a new manager came in to take over the construction, he decided to totally regrade the entire lot taking down even more trees (humph!) and lowering the elevation another few feet.  Is his goal to put our house in a pit?   Whatever the case, he seems to know more about this business than we do, as this house is only the third one I've built, so we are trying to trust him.  So after two very frustrating and hugely expensive months of renting, we continue to wait for construction to commence, and considering that rain has been pouring down again ever since our last conversation with the builder last week, my fickle emotions feel as if we will be waiting forever.  Looking forward to the new house is what keeps me content in this unsettled, crowded, dumpy apartment, so I keep trying to keep my eyes on the prize, having faith that some day we will reach it even though our eyes have seen little to no progress thus far. 

This ordeal with the house has me pondering spiritual parallels.  God never promises us an easy life, and chances are, that if life is nothing but smooth sailing, then we aren't in God's will.  If we are doing kingdom work for God's glory, Satan will attack us, but if we are merely lukewarm, living for ourselves instead of the kingdom of God, Satan isn't as likely to waste his time messing with us, for the enemy's time isn't infinite like God's is.

Matthew 10:22-23a (NIV)

²² You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. ²³ When you are persecuted in one place, flee to another....

For many, life isn't just hard, it's unbearable.  We must not forget that this life is like the blink of an eye compared to the glorious eternity that awaits us.   When we fix our eyes on Christ and His promises, earthly trials seem trivial, and we find His strength to carry us through any hardship.

2 Corinthians 4:17-18 (NIV)

¹⁷ For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. ¹⁸ So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

We can press on through six or more months of rough, unsettled living in an old apartment with many problems and continue waiting somewhat patiently for the earthly house we can only see in our minds but not with our eyes because of the hope we have through faith that a better, long term home will eventually be ours.  Similarly, we can endure whatever troubles come our way in this life because we have hope in what we cannot see but believe in our hearts to be true.  Jesus is preparing a home for us with God in heaven.  And whatever house we build on earth is like a spec of dust that gets tossed by the wind compared to our eternal home in heaven.  This world, or anything in it, is NOT MY HOME!

John 14:1-3 (NIV)

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you?  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.

When delays keep multiplying, however, and my confidence in the builder wavers, the harder it is to find contentment in this temporary dwelling which has endured not only rain torrents outside, but also a deluge of sorts inside.  The leak I noticed during my first walk-through inspection only got worse despite my daily visits to the property management office to remind them that their investment in this apartment building is washing away like the tide with each passing day during which they fail to remedy the situation.  As a spiritual parallel, when we stop trusting our heavenly Father, Creator of all things, frustrating floods will wash away contentment in this life until we renew our faith in the perfect Builder and Restorer of all things.

The rain sent this frog to our patio in search of dry shelter, but none could be found.

The property management company sent out a pest control company to treat the bugs, but the pest control guys told me exactly what I had been telling property management, "The bugs won't go away until the water stops pouring into the unit from upstairs."

I found that clothes were taking 4-6 hours to dry in this apartment compared to an hour in our previous home.  So, I took photographs of the dryer vents and pointed out the violation of fire code. They sent a duct cleaning company out here to clear the vents and then insisted that the clogged vents were causing the leak? Say what?

Spiritually, are we addressing the root cause (a sinful heart) of our problems, or are we only cleaning up the outside, masking the symptoms and denying the core issue?

After taking more photos of the flooded bathroom and noting that the carpet in the adjoining bedroom where our daughter sleeps was also soaked, the property managers finally agreed to investigate the problem further.  They sent a plumber, and I encouraged him to inspect the AC unit and attached drains upstairs.  He noted that the AC unit was sitting in a tub of water but did nothing.

What do we do spiritually after identifying the root problem?  Do we confess, repent, and ask God for strength to overcome, or do we give up and do nothing?

So we continued collecting buckets of water and wiping up all the water that sloshed elsewhere along the walls and floor with my nicest towels (since I purged all my old ones before the move).  Every day I had to wash a load of towels, and we've had to keep everything up off the floor in the room where the carpet was getting drenched each day.  While folding all those extra towels I had to wash each day, water dripped on my head.  That constant dripping reminded me of Proverbs 19:13.

Proverbs 19:13

A foolish child is a father’s ruin, and a quarrelsome wife is like the constant dripping of a leaky roof.

Water began soaking the carpet in our daughter's room.

Three weeks after we moved in, the property managers raised our rent another $100 per month.  Yes, we are living in a swamp and paying double our previous mortgage for a house three times the size of this apartment, and they think we need to pay more.  It's a multifaceted deluge over here!

Thankfully, after three weeks, they did finally replace the dishwasher, and after 3.5 weeks, we finally got internet service, so at least those sources of frustration floods were adequately dammed. (Gift #366)  Four weeks later, property management, fearing that the Dept. of Health and some attorneys may soon be on their way over, sent a licensed AC repairman to stop the leak.  He cleared all the clogged drains, so the leaks finally stopped.  Then carpet cleaners arrived with high powered fans and microbial treatments to dry out the carpets and fight whatever mold and mildew dared to wash over us like a tidal wave.  Each of those fans sounded like jet engines taking off, so the noise robbed us all of sleep that night.

Then at last, the water deluge inside had abated, so we could wait with calmer hearts for the prize.  (Gift #367) But then while our daughter was giving our bunny yet another bath (cage living keeps his paws constantly dirty), the rabbit jumped out of the sink and hopped like a wild banshee all over the apartment.  One again, the floors were soaked, but by then we were pros at mopping and sopping, so we cleaned that mess up rather easily.

Another deluge has recently been soaking my heart in the form of periodic torrents of loneliness.  Moving to a new town where I hardly knew anyone and into an apartment with so many problems occupying my time removed frequent fellowship (except for our church activities) from my life for a time.  As we returned to homeschooling, I found my 6-year-old to be my only constant companion, and as gifted as he is in communicating with people of all ages, I longed for adult conversation.  Our life class at church was once filled with homeschooling families, but now, almost all of them send their kids to public school.  It's more challenging to find fellowship with women my age when I have a kid in tow and school work to complete.  My husband's job has been very demanding, with late nights, 7-day work weeks, and rare sightings of him only late at night after I return with the kids from all their busy extracurricular activities.  Perhaps some of my loneliness has stemmed from empathy and prayers for my aunt, who lost her husband last weekend after 48 years of marriage.  He died at a Hospice facility after years of fighting for his health.  He accepted Christ as his Lord and Savior less than two weeks before his death.  Praise God Almighty for the faithful pastor who courageously and patiently presented the gospel to him at a time when he was finally ready to receive it.  (Gift #368)  Loneliness was taking a toll.  But God is ever faithful, and He knows our needs before we even think to ask Him.  (Matthew 6:8)

Events transpired this past weekend to fill the hole in my heart at a time when I needed it most.  While I know it's selfish to put oneself in the center of anything, it did feel like God had orchestrated events on my calendar this weekend to speak to my need.  He is so faithful!  On Friday, some friends invited me to a Girls Night Out to celebrate two ladies' birthdays. (Gift #369) We laughed, ate, giggled, talked, traveled back to one gal's home to talk some more and feast on some homemade birthday cake (the same recipe my late Maw-Maw made for me on my birthdays during my childhood).  Time with the girls was exactly what I needed that night even though I was reluctant to go wanting time with my husband whom I had rarely seen in weeks.

Birthday Girls

Girls Night Out (please excuse horrid "mural" in background)

Our daughter quickly found a new BFF (Bonnie) when we moved into the apartment.  This new friend spends a lot of time with us and feels like a family member, but I had not yet met her mother who travels much of the time for work.  While at the gym on Saturday after our fun GNO, my daughter and Bonnie interrupted me to say that Bonnie's parents were in the indoor pool and wanted to meet me. We had a wonderful chat and found much in common.  I also learned that they are considering homeschooling Bonnie next year, but had no idea where to start, so I gave them lots of encouragement and invited them over to borrow books, look at my schedule, and get information on how to get started.  It's such a joy to help parents in that way since educational methods are such a fascination of mine.  She came over today to borrow some books.  I pray the best for their homeschooling adventure, and I'm excited to have found a new neighborhood friend.  (Gift #370)

Saturday evening, a family we have known and loved for over 12 years drove to meet us in our new city and to take us out to dinner.  This mom friend is still faithful to God's calling to homeschool all of her children, so she understood some of the feelings I had experienced as we resumed homeschooling within our family.  We rarely get to see these friends anymore, so it was such a pleasure to spend time with them.  Finding friends who walk so closely with the Lord in a way that any time spent together is a time of sharpening one another in the faith  (Proverbs 27:17) is a rare and sacred gift for which I give God praise. (Gift #371)  My soul hungers for more friendships on that deep spiritually uplifting level as opposed to superficial relationships.  As an added bonus, my husband actually had the weekend off from work, so he could join us.  (Gift #372) It almost felt like a double date night were it not for the five kids tagging along behind us.

Family Night Out with Friends

Church was  spiritually refreshing as usual on Sunday, and I always enjoy watching my husband serve in music ministry and serving with him through deacon/deacon wives ministry.  As he waited for me to complete my service in the special needs ministry after the third service, I felt closer to him than I had in quite some time. (Gift #373)  I've always known that serving others blesses the served more than the one being served, and one more way it blesses the server is that it draws couples closer together as they both serve in a common ministry under the same vision. 

Later Sunday, I had yet another opportunity to replace loneliness with fellowship.  The parents at our daughter's new school are very engaged in school life and strive to draw families together. Two weeks into the school year, they had already planned a fellowship dinner for all the mothers of fourth graders at the school at a nice restaurant in a fabulous, sprawling shopping complex only five minutes from our lot. (Gift #374) I was thrilled to find yet another shopping/dining destination so close to our new house after living the last 12 years in the country far away from almost everything.  I did not know anyone there when I arrived, but they were friendly enough.  I could tell they all knew each other very well which made me feel better about the nature of friendships I could find there.  I just happened to sit next to and across from the mothers of the four different students from our daughter's class whom she mentions most often. I was very impressed by all of them and am excited to see parents so devoted to their children and committed to improving the school experience for everyone. Their positive energy and hilarious personalities lifted my spirits and gave me great hope for the future.  (Gift #375) It also inspired me to be as involved as I can at the school.

Whatever deluge may come, God is greater.  He has and will continue to part the seas as we take steps of faith while leaning wholly on Him and resting in His power and perfect promises.