Yesterday morning, we woke up to no water in the house. We discovered that our deep freeze had died some time ago (ruining all of the food in it) and that it had tripped the GFCI. That circuit also powers the heat wrap for our well, so we also found out that our well had frozen outside and the pipes/tank had burst.
So I put a call in to the well company and tried to figure out how I could work dealing with the well repair person and getting this freezer and ruined food to the dump in the middle of a horribly busy day.
But thankfully, I was working from home today, and I have an amazing team that I work with who are all trustworthy, hardworking, and who are supportive whenever something comes up in our “real lives” for any team member. I just let them know what was going on and that I might be AFK (away from my keyboard) a few times throughout the day dealing with everything. Mia and Mandee were also very understanding and used bottled water for getting ready for school and work.
The well ended up being really costly repairs, but we are now better prepared for the future, and the unsightly shack we had built around it is now replaced with a less noticeable fake rock. And the money that was left over from the insurance paying for my stolen truck (along with funds from our Dave Ramsey inspired “Emergency Fund”) helped us cover the expenses. No doubt, it will have implications on our budget for a year or so, but my wife and I remembered earlier times in our marriage where we would have been looking to help from others or paying high interest to cover our emergencies — and we had an opportunity to thank God together. And we got to share with so many how the unexpected situation of a stolen truck ended up being a blessing in the end.
And I was able to load up my trailer and make it to the dump literally as the last person they were letting in. I got everything unloaded and even had employees at the dump driving out right behind me to leave for the end of their day! And I made it home in time for time with family before covering a long night of scheduled maintenance work for my team that helped cover for me during the day.
Several times, as I hit what seemed like roadblocks, I just humbly prayed, “Lord, I could really use some help with ____” and thanked Him — and my wife and I had a great conversation about how amazing it is how heartfelt, surrendered prayer when we are beyond what we can control have a miraculous way of being answered time and time again. What a wonderfully exhausting and grateful sleep I had after such a crazy day!
Then, this morning I woke up to Facebook reminding me of this graphic that I created 7 years ago:
What a great reminder to do be JUST, be MERCIFUL, and be HUMBLE in everything we do.
If there is something worth making a resolution for this year, it’s that my life will better reflect these three — and I need the power of Love, the power of the Holy Spirit, of Christ in me, to fuel this into who I am at my core.
We have so much to be grateful for that even the emergencies, even the unexpected expenses, even the unexpected inconveniences have the handprints of God’s justice, His mercy, and His willingness to humble Himself to be a part of “our little lives” daily.
Thank you Jesus!
Harold J. Ballinger 