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| Wow, this is a mess,and Tom and Sean didn't make it. |
Hello again and welcome. What a couple of days we have been experiencing. For all who are not living in CT right now, let me fill you in. We were hit by a really nasty winter storm last Saturday, that has left Bristol 99% out of power. In the summer, not a problem, but now, well, it is kind of cold. My in-laws were also out of power and so were about 800,000 people in CT. This is worse than the Hurricane. It reminds me of a series my sister-in-law Nichole lent me over the summer by a Christian author. She thought I would enjoy it because in this series the whole world had lost power and so people were scrambling all over the place to be able to survive. I enjoyed it because it reminded me of how we are living in VT. I never thought that we would have to experience it at a more elaborate level. Everything was shut down. It was difficult to get gas, to find an open store and most of the lights are out.
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| A nice smuft blue for a smooth finish |
We go from building in VT to this. What a mess! Things in VT were going well. After a really crazy morning last Thursday, Sean did not want to drive his truck home. He was just not ready to take the 2 and a half hour drive without testing the truck on short distances. So I had to jump into the car and speed home with Logan and Tasha to meet furnace guy at 12. He was waiting for me as I pulled in but it worked out great since we now had heat. We settled into the house and just relaxed, knowing the boys would be up there until a while. I was planning on relieving Sean when he wanted to come home after he had his fill of tractor driving. Then the storm approached and was going to smash us. I received a call on Saturday morning, as the snow was falling, that the boys were on their way home. Tom had smashed his finger and he was done! Sean had bandaged it up nicely (but he didn't need to use his splint). They were coming home, leaving everything in VT. I asked about chain saws and dirty laundry and things like that, but all was left behind. They got home late and by that time we were pretty much in the middle of the storm. We lost power when our neighbor's tree blew out the power lines. All around us we were hearing miniature explosions going off. The transceivers were being knocked over and exploding in the roads. It was interesting, to say the least. We have a huge and old maple tree in the back of our house and all night long I was praying that none of the branches would snap and land on our roof. I heard the creaking and groaning and snapping but none of the branches hit the ground. The next day started with the house in the 60s. Not too bad, you may say, and I would agree but Tash and I were feeling a little crummy and I still have a bird, who likes it warmish. So we bundled up under the covers, Tom and Sean and Logan went to Tom's brother's house, who had gone and bought a generator that day. We ate sandwiches that night and had lots of candles around. I felt really blessed because really this was nice. We still had water and a nice bed to sleep in. Sunday was going to be more difficult. Tom left early to go back and back fill, leaving me without power. That was when I started fussing!!! I was worried that the weather would get really cold, that the bird would freeze and that by the time the power came back we would all be peoplcicles. I couldn't believe that Tom would just go up and leave us to deal with the mess here. Then he informed me that I would be in charge of selling the house and that we need to sell it soon. It is very difficult to maintain two properties. Tom could get a job but then who would build the other house. It would take us 10 years to get it up and running. I could work, but I still have a job do. I love my job and feel that it is my honor to be able to teach my kids. So the house has to go. Once the other house is up and running we see what God has in store for us. We are sure He will lead us to a great opportunity.
Oops, sorry that was a tangent. Tom is the one who goes on tangents, not me. So I spent a sleepless night worrying and fussing that Tom was gone and we would all freeze or we would just be left with nothing. Tom left about 4 am and left me a note to check out the devotion he had marked. When I got up and shivered my way around the living room I reluctantly opened the book and couldn't figure out which one he wanted me to read. There are 3 on a page. So I made my way through each until I came to the last one. Fussing leads to sinning. Great!!!! Just what the Dr. ordered. I was going to be getting a talking to again. I read Psalm 37, which was the focus of the devotional. I pointed out to me that fussing leads to sin. Fussing is an indication that we really are not where God wants us to be, but that we are relying on ourselves to take care of problems, or worse yet, we don't think that Christ is big enough to deal with our problems. It made me feel so humble and grateful again, that here is this Creator of the Universe. He cares enough about me, me! personally, to tell me in a loving way, that He will take care of things. All I have to do is to rely on Him and trust that He will put it right. I have the choice to make and turn my back and say, yeah that was a real coincidence and ignore what I should be learning. I chose to listen and to trust, once again, completely that God's way is better than my way. It was hard, and again I needed to let go of my own importance and my self and trust. I would love to tell you that the power turned on right then and there, but it did not. Instead, the kids and I (with dog right snug in between and bird chirping away not really happily but still chirping) piled on our bed with tons of blankets. We were doing school and after about 2 hours I started reading to them. I read all day, and it was so much fun. The room was nice and toasty ( I think 65*). My cell phone was dead by that time but Sean still had his going. Tom texted him saying that he was on his way home with the generator and chain saws and was going to meet him at his brother Doug's. Sean was on his way out anyway to go help friends with tree issues and it was perfect timing for him.
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| Long line at Dunkan Donuts |
So the moral of this experience and rebuke is: don't fuss. God has our back. I can rest in Him. We did not get power back until the following Saturday, but we were warm and even had TV. I fell really bad in writing this because many people are still out of power. People's homes were burnt because they were trying to stay warm. The weather was beautiful, thanks to God's mercy and grace. It stayed in the 60s during the day. Yes, people had to wait a long time for their coffee, but we still have our houses and the power is really going to be back on soon. These are things that are not lasting. We have to think about things that are lasting. Love, hope and faith!!!!
Have a warm week.
