The Joys of Home Ownership

We just recently purchased our first home.  It is a bit of a fixer upper unless you like living in 70′s style.  We have made a lot of improvements and still have a lot to go.  It can be fun, tiring, frustrating, and rewarding.  We are trying to make our improvements debt free and so far have been able to do so.  This past week while going over receipts to see how much we have put into the house we noticed something.  Lowe’s had not given us our military discount on anything except one receipt.  After a phone call to the manager we took in all of the receipts.  After much discussion and employees trying to get out of actually doing to the hefty job we recieved our discount.  It was really only a partial one but we got such a good deal on the carpeting that we let it go.  So with the credited money my hubby moved on to another project.  He has been putting in more wood flooring.  Our hallway looks a thousand times better than when it had the nasty old, dirty, and worn green carpet.  He had to level part of the floor and had a funny corner to try and cut out.  This job had challenges of its own.  More challenges were not need yesterday!  More challenges were what we dealt with and are still trying to fix.  The back door handle and lock are broken.  The door we always use is now out of working order.  This is not that big of a job to fix; it is just an annoyance mostly.  Then at 10:30 at night, after one of our daughters took her shower, the water would not quit running in the tub.  While fiddling with the faucet in the tub, it busted and shot water all over the bathroom and washed pieces down the unclogged, open drain.  This would have actually been pretty funny if we had not been so tired!  So this morning we are without water.  Replacing the faucets should not be a very big job either.  My husband went to bed last night exhausted, with a killer headache, and a bit annoyed.  This would have been nothing if he had not been working on the flooring and trying to get it done.  In fact, the whole situation does seem funny this morning now that we are rested!

This is just like anything in life.  When we know the challenges and have a plan of attack and life is going mostly according to plan or at least nothing we didn’t already anticipate; we tend to do well.  It is when the unexpected arrives and one unexpected thing on top of another that we tend to struggle.  Even the little unexpected things can throw us off.  These are the times that I am so thankful for a Savior who is sovereign!  I may not have expected these things to pop up in my life but knowing that they were ordained by my Father in heaven brings me some comfort.  Whether it is shooting water all over my bathroom or the loss of a loved one; knowing I have a God who cares and works all things together for my good gives me strength and comfort.  I may not enjoy the trials, I may not feel strong or even comforted, I may even feel abandoned. The thing is, if I truly know my Savior I can rest in Him, his wisdom, his love, his promises, his faithfulness, and in all of the character that is my God.  Remember things often look different when you come out on the other side of the trial.

Do you have that assurance?  You should if you know the living Lord!  Praise be to the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!