Not two hours after my last "whirlwind" post, we were literally in the whirlpool (and I'm not talking about a hot tub!). Claudia had taken a few hours to go out with the boys and do some grocery shopping, leaving my dad resting in bed. He's continuing to do better and slowly regain his strength to the point that he was able to get into his electric scooter and make his way to the bathroom. I've added some support bars to the master bath for him for stability sake, so he managed to take care of what he needed and return to bed, but did't realize that not only had the sewer clogged, but the flush handle on the toilet was stuck down and continued running for at least the next two hours. If a toilet fills a 3 gallon tank in less than one minute, that makes at least 360 gallons of water pumped into the master bath, closet and bedroom before it was discovered by Claudia when she returned home. 360 gallons is the same amount of water dropped from firefighting helicopters when fighting a forest fire! So I can confidently report that there are currently no fires in our home at this point!
The sheetrock walls had already sucked up a fair amount of water, rippling and changing color up to 12" from the floor. Little geysers squirted from the laminate floor boards as we walked around surveying various cardboard boxes filled with books, files and photos pulled out of the office to make room for a hospital bed. Claudia had beat me home by 10 minutes and I found her sitting in shock surrounded by our new bedroom pool, but what I saw in her was grief accompanied by a solid conviction of God's promised love and care in all situations. Some of her first words were: "God has allows this for a reason." I couldn't have been any prouder (or more in love) with her than I was at that moment, & she was right...this could have happened at any time during the previous week. The sewer clogging, the toilet getting stuck running (it never does that) and nobody being home to find it. What that purpose exactly is, we don't yet know, but according to James 1, He will at least use this to continue us on our road to maturity in Him. We are getting the opportunity to share this conviction with and minister to my dad who obviously feels guilty, but just helping him see this from an eternal perspective alleviates much of this.
So, we've already torn out the flooring, have drilled holes in the walls and have dehumidifiers and blowers running 24/7 to make sure no mould takes hold. Then it's waiting on insurance (there's been a lot of that lately) and see how to do the repairs. We were hoping to remodel the bathroom & closet in the next few years...I guess our timeline was a little further out than Gods!
A note of praise is that my sister has found a very good housing option for my dad in CA close to his doctor's office where he can be cared for up to the spinal surgery and afterwards if necessary. We are working through the paperwork now and I plan to fly him out next Friday the 17th and help get him settled. We are looking forward to having him more mobile and in better spirits this coming week prior to his return as we spend time with him outside of the hospital setting or on bed rest.
Please know that we appreciate your prayers and encouragement immensely! Thank you for your support in so many ways.
God bless!
If you would like to support our ministry with Latin America Mission or make a special donation, please visit our missionary page:
http://www.lam.org/missionaries/abegg
In His Hands / En Sus manos;
4 comments:
Sorry to hear that. Adding stress to already stress. We'll be praying for you guys.
praying for you all!!! There are no words, but like Claudia said God has a purpose. In the midst of trials may we remind ourselves not to ask why but what. What is the Lord teaching me and wanting me to learn? We will give you the faith you need to make it through this, He loves you. He is right there with you.
Praying for grace...Claudia you're my hero...this too shall pass! and you get a new bathroom too! Our God never gives us more than we can handle. A little potty humor never hurts!
Just saw this!!! Oh my dear ones, forgive me I didn't know to pray for this... but will be now... His grace! His grace is sufficient. Claudia, I praise God for your humble response in this trial. It is a major encouragment to me.
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