Then after the weekend the week was sucked away. Monday night we had really bad storms in the area. Yes, that includes Tornado warnings AGAIN. I know, it's not tornado season, but we had potential tornadoes nonetheless. Monday night lightening struck the house and it fried the well. Thus Tuesday morning we had no water. This continued through Wednesday. We went to a friend's house to shower and then went back to our apartment. In the afternoon on Wednesday, water was restored to the house and I started cleaning. After an hour of work, dark sludge started to come out of the faucet and all my hard work was fruitless. Every water vessel in our apartment was black. Yuck...we then flushed out the lines for two hours. The tree hugging hippy in me was screaming. I wasted water for two straight hours before we started to have clear-ish water. The next morning we still had some dark spots in the sinks and toilets, but it cleared after a short time. After two and half days we now have clear water. We are still drinking bottled water...I am leery of what is coming out of the faucets, but still appreciative of the fact that I have running water. Every year Josh and I give money to clean water initiatives over seas and this week, I felt truly blessed that I have access to clean water even if not from my own faucet.
Josh and I started to pack up this week. It is a strange feeling to be packing when we just moved. We are very happy to be making this transition, but it is weird to start packing when it feels like we just unpacked. I have started to pare down things that we don't need or have replaced. Again, it is strange to have so little and still be getting rid of things. This just shows how blessed Josh and I are to be able to still get rid of things. I am incredibly excited about moving into our new apartment and unpacking our new stuff. I have boxes of kitchen equipment that I have been itching to open and dirty. I am almost done with purchasing for the kitchen, but I will still need a few small kitchen appliances once we move. I am still trying to accept spending three hundred dollars on needed items in one day. It is a hard lesson when I do this once a week or more. I am looking forward to this ending.
I know that many people will read the above paragraph and think that I should not be complaining, but when I spend money, I know that it is not just today that I have to do so. I will have to do this for a long time and I have not even bought furniture. It is overwhelming. Josh reminds me of the rich young ruler (text follows).
Luke 18:18-23 (with the context of versuses 24-30 also)[18] A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"[19] "Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good -- except God alone. [20] You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"[21] "All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.[22] When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."[23] When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.[24] Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! [25] Indeed, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."[26] Those who heard this asked, "Who then can be saved?"[27] Jesus replied, "What is impossible with men is possible with God."[28] Peter said to him, "We have left all we had to follow you!"[29] "I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God [30] will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life."
This scripture does not cause conflict in my decisions, it just makes me wonder. I know I should move on. I know that I should not sit and be idle. But I want to be mindful of how "stuff" can make people lose sight of what is important. Plus I really don't want to just get "STUFF/ CLUTTER". I want what I will use. Will I use six wooden spoons? Will I need this mirror? Will I use a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer? Should I buy an immersion blender, blender, all-in-one, Cuisinart food processor, or generic food processor? When the options are endless you don't know what is the right decision for you. There is a term for this in board gaming. It is "analysis paralysis" this occurs when you have so many options that you end up stalling on your turn. It is frustrating in board gaming, but it is even more frustrating in real life.
I mentioned in the last post that I am struggling with the holidays. This is still occurring, but I have decided that I need to just accept this. I have been offered Christmas with family and also friends once we move and Josh and I are going to see his family for Thanksgiving. It is just hard to accept that I will not get to use all my Christmas ornaments this year. All my family's Christmas ornaments were saved from the basement after the storm! However they will stay in the box this year. I should look at it like I did when we went to Hawaii. "Why decorate when we are not going to be here for Christmas?" (Just had a small realization. It is amazing what writing will do!) Though I think I will still struggle when it comes to Christmas music.
Some blessings this week were:
- We had insurance on our house. We were considered "under insured" but we still have plenty to get the things we need to recover.
- My nephew is beautiful!
- We have running water!!!
- We are beginning the long process of moving.
- I have fantastic in-laws.
- I have a fantastic husband who keeps me grounded and encourages me when I have a bad day.
Anna, you are doing great. You are both doing great. It's not easy losing everything whether it's a tornado or war. We are sorry we will not be able to see you when we come through Joplin in January. Blessings to the both of you in your new home. Dan
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