Silver Linings

The last 9 days have been an emotional roller coaster for our family and though we’re finally in our new house, it hasn’t been without it’s share of frustrations. It all started with Rome getting car sick 30 minutes outside of St. Louis on our move up to Minnesota. 2 hours and a new car seat later, we were finally under way. We made it to our hotel in Iowa City around 11:30pm on Thursday night after battling a wicked thunderstorm. We couldn’t see our hotel at first because the power was out, but literally seconds before we pulled in the parking lot, the power came back on.

The next day we hit delays in Iowa due to flooding – and let me just say that anything we’ve been through pales in comparison to what those poor folks in Iowa are dealing with – whole buildings under water. Please do keep them in your prayers. Finally, we made it to Minnesota on Friday afternoon and after 12+ hours total in the car with a 2.5 year old and 3 month old baby, I’ve decided we aren’t traveling again until our kids are teenagers.

We thought things were finally beginning to settle down a bit when closing on our house went off without a hitch but that changed on Tuesday. As I was driving to church to pick Rome up from VBS, a Semi threw up a golf ball sized rock which put a nice half moon crack in the windshield. Needless to say that needs to be replaced.

Wednesday we got a call from our moving company and found out that instead of getting our stuff sometime between Tuesday-Friday (June 17-20), we found out it won’t be here until next Tuesday, June 24th. Thankfully we already bought a bed and we brought enough stuff with us to get by. But, the icing on the cake was today. I had finished cleaning out the gutters on the back of our house and I was using the hose to spray them out. All was going well until I came around the front of the house and heard the sound of spraying water and Rome yelling from the living room “there’s water all over!” Apparently the “frost valve” on the outside spicket burst open inside the house carving a 1 inch hole in the drywall and soaking our carpet in the living room and possibly damaging some of the other walls as well.

As Kris and I were reflecting on this, we just found it amazing that twice we had seemingly bad things happen to us – but they really turned out for our good. 1) Had Rome not gotten sick, we would have been in the hotel when the power was out. 2) Had out stuff gotten here on time from the movers, our belongings would have been damaged from the water leak. I know the devil has been using these events to try to break our spirits and to make us doubt whether or not we really belong here. But then it occurred to me…there was another major event where all seemed bleak and where the devil thought he’d won. Where it looked like all was lost. That’s when Jesus was nailed to the cross and left there to die. It looked like there was no hope but then 3 days later when Jesus rose from the dead, the cross took on a whole new perspective. What seemed like a terrible event turned out to be the best for all humanity as Christ’s death and resurrection mean forgiveness and eternal life for all who believe in Him. While there may not always be a silver lining on the clouds we face in our daily lives, Christ’s death and resurrection is always cause for rejoicing.

Lord God, Heavenly Father, I praise and thank you for this day. I ask that you be with our family as we go through these minor setbacks and ask that you be with us and give us your strength. Send your holy angels to watch over us and protect us from the evil one. Give comfort and peace to all those afflicted by trouble in body, home, spirit, or mind. May your Holy Spirit give us hope knowing that no matter what happens in this life…no matter what troubles we experience…we have the assurance that our sins are forgiven because Jesus died and rose again for us. Thank you, Father, for loving us. Thank you for turning negative events into positive outcomes for us. Keep us in your tender arms now and forever. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.