Jesus Fix It

I heard the sound of a hand, or as it turned out, a foot running through deep-ish water very near. too near. to my sleeping head. 

Few things can strike a chord of terror within like waking up to the strong smell of smoke or hearing a splish splash when no one is taking a bath. 

I thought my husband spilled his giant yeti cup of water and snickered a little bit but then my husband very quietly said, “I think our house is flooded.” Ya think?

So not only did the cowboys lose Sunday. But our rental house flooded. 

Crap, did we leave the bath running? Busted pipe? 

“We’re taking on water, captain.” Muddy rain water. It was the heavens crying at the loss of our beloved cowboys football game. 

What happened: 
In ONE hour.one SINGLE hour.the rain water made a beeline toward us. It came down from the heavens, into our back yard (our neighbors were so kind to share some of their leftovers as well) The rain river flowed until it met the dam of our house then it spread out, silently, underneath the back door as well as under the freaking BRICKS of our house, into our bedroom and slid down the hallways and into all the other bedrooms all while I slept and my husband read his book. 

HOW COULD THIS HAPPEN???

We always want to get to the why when something catastrophic like this happen in our lives but honestly the why is irrelevant. If only we would have known, we could have done XYZ to change the outcome. I felt betrayed. The backyard where I sat each morning and prayed, where I worshipped had not protected or stopped the torrent of water from touching us. We so want someone to blame #blastedPackers#previousownersshouldhaveTOLDourlandlord
#alittlewarningwouldhavebeennice

We should have had a clue when they turned us down for renters insurance because of multiple claims at the new address....from water damage.

but knowing why in that moment wasn’t helpful if there’s nothing I can do to change it. 

I was in shock. Like waking up into a bad dream. 

I waded through it in my snake boots to find it was 1" deep in some places :(

My husband handed me a 5 gallon bucket and a sponge mop while he worked with the towels.

Lemme tell ya it is NO fun to be doing the mop and no glo with muddy water after being rudely awakened. 

As I mopped, it gave me some time to think. I wasn’t mad. Just a little shell shocked and figuring out the next step. I was tempted to go into “poor me” victim mode. WHY DOES THIS ALWAYS HAPPEN TO ME? haha. this particular thing has never happened before. 

Or I could have been overwhelmed and stressed. I thought about the floor. It would have to be replaced because all of the muddy water. It was seeping down into the pad underneath the laminate floors. We would have to move out probably for at least a couple of days or more while it was replaced. We moved three times last year so this meant we go from our temporary rental house to temporary temporary housing in a hotel. 

So it was no small miracle and a little bit of a shock to me and I’m sure to my husband (since I had my sleepy frog voice going) when I belted out and started singing…Yes, singing #kindoflikewhistlewhileyouwork

I sang out, “You are my shield, my portion, deliverer. My shelter. Strong Tower. My very present help in time of need…” and I didn’t know the rest of the song so I just kept repeating that for a few minutes. 

#JesusFixIt

I was at peace and I could feel Him resting on me as I mopped and sang. It would be okay. 

I came across some things that were ruined that were pretty sentimental and I started singing again and there was the rational thinking: It's just stuff. No ones hurt or dying. It's not scary. It's just work, inconvenience and we would get through it together. 

And please don't feel bad or sorry for me because I look at this as a great victory. I never want to put my hope or even disappointments in THINGS. I love people and things aren't where life and love lives and grows.

What I learned:
We all need to be building ARKS! JUST KIDDING 

Seriously, If all you lose is STUFF and you are alive, the STUFF can all be replaced or even if it’s sentimental, we don’t HAVE to have it to live. it does no good to blame or get to the why. If it’s preventable, you can worry about a plan of protection but otherwise just let it go. 

Most importantly TRUST that God has a plan. A rescue plan. Usually what we make up in our head is so much worse than the reality of it. 

When we trust Him, we can sing our way out of trouble and into peace. Singing crushes the head of self pity, stress, and fear. It worked for me sunday. Try it! 
#PRAISEHIM
#TRUSTHIM
#HEWILLDELIVERYOU