"Home"

In our small group this week, we discussed the idea of home and all that entails. (Well maybe not ALL that entails, but as much as we could cover in a couple of hours.)

This is interesting in light of the fact that my "home" is in tatters right about now. Which can get me cranky--as it has been in tatters at one time or another for most of the time we have lived in it. We did have a respite for a couple of years--mostly because our construction efforts have been directed elsewhere--but it's been a stressor to live in a work in progress. More importantly, though, it's served to grow me and give me a different notion of home.

All the while I had been trying ever so mightily to create a "picture perfect" home (think Martha Stewart), my home was in different states of construction. This forced me to find that security and safety elsewhere. And as providence would have it, I learned it was Christ all along.

I wish I could say that I've been a model of faith and patience in this area (or any area, for that matter) but sadly, I have not. This latest go around, though, I've been better than my usual self, and I am so grateful to God for that. He has molded me and shaped me closer to Him, and for that, we are all grateful!

But Wait! There's More!

I truly thought the feeling sorry for myself thing was nearing an end....

So, last week, the sewer drain backed up into the laundry and kitchen sinks. Now, before you get too grossed out, the only things draining on this line are the kitchen and laundry sinks. So it wasn't too gross. It was, however, very annoying.

That was right before it became really really awful.

The Roto-Rooter guy is snaking the drain and his snake-thingy gets stuck and twisted and he has to cut it. Twice. That is, apparently, the sign of a very bad thing. As in a collapsed pipe. So that's what it turned out to be. A collapsed sewer pipe, pert-near dead center of my house.

Since then the A-Thon O'hana has:
*boarded up half the house in order to
*cut the floor of the house in half with a
*concrete wet saw after digging with a
*jackhammer for two days which was exacerbated by
*a day of tropical rainstorms

And oh yeah, on the day this all started, we got the puppies spayed/neutered and they both had issues and came home in the cones of shame stoned out of their minds. Whew. It's almost as exhausting to write it as...what am I saying? Ugh. It must be the lack of sleep.

Can I just say that so far, I have learned that saying, "What next?" is a bad idea, unless you really want to know.