Bad Day

I think the title to this post might be an understatement.

This is a day I do NOT wish to repeat.

My parents have not even lived in their "new" house for a week yet and they have been having all kinds of issues with it and of course it's all stuff that won't be covered by the home warranty. And then my dad cut his scalp opened on the track for the garage door while he was painting. So he ended up with 8 staples in his head (and the oh-so-compassionate doctor gave him those 8 staples without an ounce of pain medication).

And my dad's tractor stopped working yesterday.

And then they got over 6 inches of rain in less than 24 hours. Of course their house couldn't handle that and so their beautiful, finished basement, that they've been using as a staging area for all of their boxes, ended up with 7 inches of water in it.

You can only imagine how devastated they have been. Actually, I think it's a little hard to imagine until you actually experience it yourself. There is a distinct sick feeling that sinks to the pit of your stomach when you see something you love completely destroyed and you know it can't be replaced.

One of the boxes that was completely submurged contained all the children's books we would read at Christmas time when I was little. And I have enjoyed reading those same books to Christian and McKenna over the last several years. I just wanted to sob when I realized that they probably couldn't be saved. All those sweet memories. And so, while we keep telling ourselves that they're only "things" and that we can't take any of it to Heaven with us anyway....it's still hard. There is such a feeling of loss. And my parents are tired. They've been tired for months. Moving is terribly hard and this just made it almost unbearable for them.

As I was driving to their house (while crying) I just prayed that somehow I would bring encouragement to them. Thankfully McKenna does a pretty good job of that. She loves to hang on her PopPop's leg and say "Much you. Much you, so much." That's her way of saying "I love you so much."

My parents could definitely use some prayer. They feel beaten down and I know that Jesus is the one who can lift them up. I'm praying that the Holy Spirit will minister to them and bring them the encouragement that they need.

On a positive note (because I should say something positive in this post), WE HAVE AWESOME FRIENDS!!! I mean seriously! You know the David and Jonathan kind of friends? Well, I think we have some of those. Whew...it makes me cry to even think about them. But these are the kind of friends who jump up out of the middle of a church service, go home and grap their pool pump out of the pouring rain, and come to your parent's house to spend 7 hours pumping water out of their basement. They are the kind of friends who don't just speak it, they live it. And we are so thankful for them!