There's nothing quite like being on the other side of a trial to give you some perspective.
On Monday, I was NOT happy. I've been in far worse moods, I admit, but I was grumbling about what had happened to my house. I was especially annoyed that some people thought I was exaggerating (before they saw the photos) when they hadn't even lost power at all and were in the middle of enjoying a lovely coffee from their coffee machine!
I didn't understand why God allowed it to happen after all the work and effort last year that went into getting the house into the good condition it was in before the storm. I was enjoying living without furniture in places it shouldn't be. I was enjoying having everything just so. Now that two of our rooms were water-damaged, everything had to be moved out and put elsewhere. It felt like we were almost back to square one. A few weeks ago, I'd been warming myself in our lovely renovated loungeroom thinking how good it was. Now I was wondering if God allowed our house to be damaged to teach me a lesson in taking things for granted. There's nothing quite like taking away part of your roof, running water, flushing toilets, electricity and carpets to give you a much-needed reality shake.
I'm still frustrated. I'm still trying to be patient. We're still waiting for a new roof. None of the lights work so we're relying on torches, lamps and camping lanterns at night. The carpet needs to be ripped up and replaced in the two rooms that were water-damaged. It really stinks in there! The dog yard needs to be fixed. The garden is pretty battered and I still need to go around and get rid of the bits of roof hanging off bushes etc. I know it will get done. I just need to be patient. I wish I could just snap my fingers and all the debris will disappear. But I know that when God's people pray for patience, He doesn't magically make them feel patient...He gives them circumstances that test and grow their patience.
In reality, I have so much to be thankful for. I wasn't a homeless person wondering where I was going to find shelter from the storm. I didn't lose my whole house. I had a house in the first place. We've already had a plumber come to fix the water supply and install a new oven and stove. Today we had a man come to fix the TV antenna and put in a new aerial for our internet. There were people who prayed for us and offered us practical help (thank you). I still have my health. I wasn't injured in the storm. Nobody died in our area.
Yes, I think it's time to re-visit my Count Your Blessings post from 2007.
Maybe this is just a lesson I need to learn over and over....and over again.
4 comments:
I'm glad you find that you have much to be thankful for, but please don't ever think that God punishes us for enjoying His wonderful gifts. Sometimes stuff just happens. Period. Nobody's fault. Not even God's.
God does like to shake us out of our complacency. I'm reading a book about David of the Bible by Eugene Peterson. He gave me a different perspective on the story where David decides he wants to build a "house" for God. It is like David was in a superior position to God in his mind and now in the situation to be able to "do things" for God. That is absolutely where God did not want him to go, so he stopped him in his tracks.
I often feel like God wants to keep me a little uncomfortable so that I will reply on him and not on myself and all the props around me.
God bless as you try to get things sorted out.
I don't think God was trying to 'punish' me, Betty (I refrained from using that word in the post). I think Wendy put it better than I did in that He does like to shake us out of our complacency so that we rely on Him more, and not on ourselves or earthly things. It's not wrong to enjoy the good things He gives us, but there are many people (myself included) who often take them for granted instead of remembering to give thanks to the one who gave them to us. I do believe God is actively involved in His world. Things do happen for a reason even if we can't always see it.
It´s really good you can see the positive side of it all.
Ewww, I´m so sorry, I so know that smell from when my Spouse´s apartment flooded twice back then. All the work isn´t funny either. Best wishes from here!
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