Oh the irony.
On our way down to Dallas over Christmas, Grant and I had a conversation about how much we were looking forward to 2014 and starting afresh after a really rough 2013. And then January came.
In the last 5 weeks: we had a burst pipe attached to the toilet that flooded our house - our laundry room, hallway, guest bedroom, office and both bathrooms had to be completely remodeled (and are still under construction), we showered at the gym for a week, we moved into a hotel for 3 weeks, I got diagnosed with a clotting disorder, I tore my ACL skiing 4 days before a scheduled surgery, I had that scheduled surgery (a hysteroscopic metroplasty), and Grant's car got broken into.
Needless to say, things have been a little wild and overwhelming! But throughout the last 5 weeks, we have also learned some things that I think are invaluable, and I wanted to share a few.
1. Stuff is just stuff.
Material possessions being lost/ruined really didn't bother us in light of the health issues I had going on. We can live without nice stuff, even without a shower and be just fine thank you! Relationships and health are so much more important. And we are thankful that we haven't lost those.
2. We have invaluable, fabulous friends.
I have always wondered about having support in Denver, away from our close and wonderful families. I wondered how things would go if something went wrong and/or with having kids. But we have been incredibly loved by neighbors, friends, and our community group at church in a way I never expected in the last year, and especially in January. They have opened their homes to us, fed us meals, took care of me after my surgery, prayed for us, encouraged us with texts and letters, and even helped us pack/unpack our house! We would not have gotten through the last month without them and I could never express how much gratitude I have for them!
3. When someone offers to help, take it.
This one was hard for me. I usually am the one offering. I also hate to inconvenience people. With our miscarriages, I turned a lot of help offers down. But this time, we seriously needed the help. Feeling really weak and sick post op with no house and no working kitchen and on crutches = HELP!
4. It's ok to have help.
Also hard for me. I am the independent, I can do it on my own, type girl. So much so that Grant and I used to argue about me not letting him help when we first got married! I have learned so much humility through the last several weeks. God made us to help and have help. There is truly a season for both. I now understand that. And it has been a beautiful lesson.
5. God will give you more than you can handle.
You know, so often people spout out, "God won't give you more than you can handle" as some offhand type of encouragement when things aren't going your way. I disagree. The verse does not say that. The verse is not referring to that. The verse says he won't give you more temptation than you can bear. It's not talking about tragedy, misfortune, health issues, or house floods. It's talking about sin. I think it's the opposite. I think God gives you more than you can handle. I think He allows it as a sort of test, as a lesson. And then He gives you His word, His strength, His comfort, and His people to help you through the overbearing times.
Hoping that our uphill battle is on it's way to downhill soon. But so thankful for the love and support we are receiving and the lessons we are learning while climbing up our hill!
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