Flooded with Blessings

Last night, as we prepared for worship, a huge storm started.  I mean HUGE.  I'm not sure I have ever seen rain like that.  Instantly, the roads were flooded, neighbors' yards looked like ponds, rivers, and streams, and we had to go 30 mph or less on what was normally a 45 mph road, because visibility was horrible.  We thought it would just last a short time because of the severity of it, but it rained for quite a while!  As we worshiped, we could hear the wind and downpouring rain outside.  People came into the building soaked to the bone, shivering, and thankful to be safe!  We praised God and thanked Him for showing His power and for protecting us.  As we departed, we all waded through puddles to our cars and headed home slowly.

When we got home, my husband asked me to get the kids headed towards bed while he investigated the basement "just in case."  Immediately, he raced back upstairs, changed out of his worship clothes, and told me to meet him downstairs after the kids were in bed.   Nervously, I rushed the kids to bed, changed my own clothes, and headed down to the basement, thinking he'd need my help wiping up a few puddles. In the meantime, we found a leak in my daughter's room/ceiling.  I had no idea what was to come!

At first, I just saw our "canning" room, which floods occasionally with a few puddles.  It was an inch deep in there, and all the boxes and stuff stored on the floor were ruined.  I quickly started tossing trash to make room for the "good" stuff while my husband shop-vac-ed the floor.  He asked me to check the next room (my craft/scrapbook room), and I noticed huge puddles all over the floor.   Moving to the playroom, the same thing.  The laundry room?  More than an inch deep in the entire room.   Snapping into action, I ran upstairs to call my parents, who immediately headed this way with large trash bags and a shop vac.  By the time they got here, I had filled 6 large bags with trash, ruined items, and nasty, muddy stuff (including a dead mouse, who must not like to swim!!).  They jumped into action, helped clear out our playroom, pull up the floor (foam tiles), and get everything else ready to shop-vac.  My sweet husband vacuumed for over 3 hours, and my dad was on his hands and knees on cement to salvage what we could.  I made a trip to the store for fans (of course one didn't work!) and storage containers to get what we could off the floor. 

Normally, things like this flip me out.  And, I'd had very little sleep the night before and was fighting a migraine.  And yet, the whole time, I felt an unbelievable sense of calm as I tossed clutter and cleaned messes.  My basement has been a "thorn in my side" for a long time, as I struggle to find the time to organize it, purge us of unnecessary things, etc.  It becomes a "dumping place" for anything upstairs that we don't have time to deal with, and no matter what, it never seems to get organized!  It constantly taunts me with my failure as a housekeeper, and I've started even dreading going down there.  Not to mention the mice that call it home as well!!!  I had planned to call my mom later this week to see if she'd come help me tackle it, yet I just hadn't "gotten around to it" yet.   As we vacuumed, mopped, wiped, and tossed last night, I felt as though a huge weight had been lifted off of me.  All this "stuff" was just "stuff!"   My children were safe, my husband was safe and able to work hard, my parents came to our aid, and our house survived.  Nothing of great value was destroyed.  I could almost hear God cheering our efforts as we worked as a team and knocked Satan back a few steps.  Clutter strangles me sometimes, and I allow it to get in the way of so many other things.  Last night, I felt "flooded" with blessings, despite the mess and chaos.  This morning, I am so thankful for the opportunity to wake in a warm, safe house with my family intact and with blessings of God abundantly filling my "cup." 

Much work is still to come, and I am sure I will face some frustration and discouragement as we contemplate what can and can't be salvaged, but right now, I am simply thankful.  Thankful for a chance to tackle this "thorn," thankful for a family who sticks together and works together, and thankful for all God blesses me with.  I am thankful also for the reminder that it is not I who is in control, but God.