Soggy Saga

Oct. 10, 2007

Joey’s memory verse this week is “I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth” Genesis 9:13. That, of course, comes from the story of Noah and the flood.

We had a little flood of our own here last week – a very wet welcome to Virginia. Exactly one week after we moved in, I awoke in the middle of the night to the sound of swooshing water. I went into the kitchen to find the floor covered in water -- apparently coming from the area around the dishwasher. The same in the laundry room and garage. The basement was worse. Water had just poured through the floor into the basement, straight through the insulation and leaving it ankle-deep in water. All of the electricity – the breaker box – down there was soaked. Thank goodness my husband knew where to turn off the water and stop the flood. We spent the rest of the night unpacking the wet boxes that were sitting on the floor of the garage and getting things out to dry – pictures, albums, etc.

I’ve been busy with plumbers, electricians, insurance adjustors, floor restoration specialists and water removal experts ever since. And, of course, I’ve been teaching the kids. They are still getting all of their subjects.

Much of our kitchen floor has been ripped out and we have had industrial fans and air scrubbers going for nearly a week. I have to say the most recent flooring in the kitchen was the best so far. And brand new. Too bad it didn’t last long. The kitchen has been stripped down to the original beige linoleum, flecked with black and white. And the staples are poking out of it so we have to keep shoes on all the time.

So, what can I learn from this? Well, old houses have plumbing problems (although our old house in Tennessee did not), and home insurance is definitely mandatory. I’m so glad we have a good policy.

But here is something else I learned and it’s pretty basic:

I’m a worrier, a true-blue worrier. Anyone who knows me can vouch for that. I guess I think that if I worry about a potential bad consequence, I will be prepared for it. Well, I wasn’t worried the night of our flood. I was safe in my new home with only plans of unpacking on my mind.

And then – the water. So, I have been reminded that worry is futile. It prepares us for nothing except more worry. And worry separates us from God – because it is fear, of course. And fear is the opposite of faith.

If I had been worried about catastrophic problems in my new house, it wouldn’t have prepared me to deal with it. What enabled us to deal with it is our home insurance and a handy husband who knows how things work. And, of course, a willingness to deal with the problem as it unfolds. It is still unfolding.

I pray that soon we will begin to see some the problems resolved and our home restored.