When Troubles Come

As I write this blog, the temperature is 8 degrees higher than we are used to in our house, with a steady hum from a dehumidifier as the sound track. God tells us in his word:John 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” Praise God. We never know when trials or troubles will come our way, but it is only a matter of when. Often times, I sense it. When all is peaceful for so long, I start to wonder when trying times will be in our grasp.

It was a relaxing Saturday. We were set to watch a movie we had DVR'd earlier. Jeff was prompted to set up some special wires to make a dvd copy of the movie. Well, as he was back behind the TV, he noticed the carpet was discolored and damp, this is in our lower level. He then pulled the carpet back and found some mold. YIKES. "This is not good!" I happened to walk down there as he discovered this! Immediately the mind starts racing. "What do we do?" It is a Saturday. Jeff started to investigate, inside and outside. We had two neighbors come. The next day, a co-workers husband, who is a contractor, came to look. Jeff thought it might be related to the drain pipe from upstairs, but we did not know. As soon as we started to run water for a longer stretch, water showed up in the lower level.

We knew it was a leak in the pipes from our kitchen, but we were not sure where. The plumber, who's company did the original work (8 years ago), came on Monday. He started taking out the corner cupboard and cutting into the wall and floor. My heart sunk. "Here, we go!" I cried several times leading up to this. I wished I could wake up and everything would be back to normal. We were calm about it and asking questions. The plumber was calm and methodical. We didn't want to place blame or anger. The plumber was here the majority of the day, and they are going to make it right with us as far as cost. But, of course this is only part of the problem.

Intek arrived today. They cut a piece of the wall away to discover wet everything. So, as you can see from the pictures, this is what we are dealing with. The dehumidifier is drying the wet area, so that is warm air, plus 75 degrees in the house. The kids are loving the shorts and tank tops. Ww will run this all today, tomorrow. And, then we have to put everything back together. Again, Jeff's coworkers--husband. He happens to be free too.

God is in control. We need to focus on Him when troubles come our way and nothing else. God is in control. He is Sovereign. When life is falling apart around us we can rest in the truth that Jesus is LORD and God is in control!!! Not one of his plans can be thrwarted by Satan. Praise God for this truth. I spent a lot of time in prayer yesterday and reading Bible verses. God directed by to Phillipians 4:4-5... casting my anxieties on God. He does not want us to worry. He gives us grace for every second of every minute of every hour of every day. We need to simply turn to God and be ready to receive it!

I looked for the small things to be thankful for... here is what I have so far..
--God prompted Jeff to discover the spot
--neighbors and friends came to help troubleshoot
--the plumber was available and gracious
--the Intek--main guy is a listener to KNWC
--I got to clean behind my stove and clean one of my cupboards
--I received a note from my sister yesterday, simply encouraging me and she didn't even know what was happening...
--God is good and faithful
--this home is just material... God is preparing a mansion for me!
--in a a month or two, the memories will fade.

Any one want to come over to get a Southern, warm temperature escape? Now we just need some sand and water!