"Two hours, tops!"

That was a standing joke between Pete and me! Whenever there was a job that needed to be done around the house, Pete would always say it would only take “Two hours, tops!” Usually two days or two weeks later, we were still working on it! We would often say, “Everything we do turns into a ‘project’!”

Well, this week has been full of ‘projects’! And God has been teaching me some lessons through it all! Last Monday night, I had a major water problem and ended up needing to have the septic tank pumped and the line cleaned out! Yuk! Yet through it all, God was in control…even when I didn’t realize it! Our youngest daughter “just happened” to be spending the night with me Monday night and so she was here to keep me from just bursting into tears! We worked together to move heavy furniture and use Pete’s shop vac to vacuum up water until 1 AM! (Lesson 1 – Trust Me to provide for your needs…even if it is just encouraging words and a strong, younger back!)

 Then the next morning, He sent just the right people to my aid! I called a dear friend from church who helped connect me with others who could help. We only had one problem…we knew where the septic tank pipe came out of the ground but didn’t know exactly where the tank was in our woods. It had been so long since we had it cleaned out, I couldn’t remember. They probed and looked and looked for at least 30 minutes. I was trying to make some calls to see if anyone remembered exactly where the tank could be…but couldn’t reach anyone. Then I realized that I had not even prayed one time and asked the Lord to help! I stopped right then and apologized to Him for forgetting to go to Him first and asked him to please help those men find that tank. I want you to know when I walked outside, one of them looked up and said, “We just found it!” I felt like God said, “It is so good you have all this help, but don’t forget to come to me first, then we will work on using all the help!” (Lesson 2 – Remember, Brenda…always, always, always go to Me first!)

Once the septic tank problem was solved, I still needed to deal with the wet carpet and once again, God sent two special men from church to come over and help with that situation. The incredible thing is that one of these men had come up to me at church last Sunday morning and said the two of them had been talking and wanted to see if there was anything they needed to do to help me. I thanked him but told him that I didn’t know of anything right then!! Well, when these two men walked into my door Tuesday night to help with my wet carpet, I said, “Can you believe how the Lord had prepared your heart to know that I was going to need some help before any of us knew it!” Several different men came during the week to help me manage the carpet situation and were such a blessing! (Lesson 3 – I know what is going to happen and am preparing hearts to help you before you even know it!)

Then, this weekend, I had another house situation that required friends willing to share their knowledge, time and energy in order to do some repair work. It was completed well, lots of other work was done, and we enjoyed great fellowship while being together. (Lesson 4 – You are not alone…I’ve got your back and have some pretty incredible people who are helping Me take care of you!)

Did I miss Pete during all of this? Oh, my, YES!! Without a doubt! I missed his wisdom, his help, his handling of situations, his work ethic, his enjoyment of the fellowship of working alongside others to complete a job. I do not like having to manage all of this on my own…but I continue to be amazed at what God is teaching me about how through it all, He is there.

         Thank you, Lord, for lessons learned…whether it takes two hours, tops, or longer!