Elementary Principal
I would bet that we are all fairly familiar with the little
quip “when it rains it pours”. Most could probably readily recall times where a
chain of events has made them feel like they are in the middle of a downpour
with no reprieve in sight. Ah, yes. Travel with me as I relay, not so fondly,
the latest super storm to hit the Borta household.
Drizzle
It was time. I
could no longer put off the repairs that my car so desperately needed. I was
hesitant to take the car in knowing that the repairs could be costly. However,
with the air suspension failing each morning, I was literally bouncing down the
road in my car, holding on to the steering wheel for dear life. It was so
severe I almost started wearing my hat backwards and blasting music as loud as
possible to fit in with the gangstas who do this to their cars on purpose. I
finally settled on a repair shop and crossed my fingers. It would have been too
easy for the car to just be fixed and for that to be that. After spending $750
on the repair, I got a call that there was a bigger problem that would cost an
additional $1850. Everyone has that lying around right before Christmas, right?
Thus began the car saga that has yet to be resolved. That’s right. You may
still have the privilege of seeing me bouncing down the road if you are lucky
enough to cross my path on a given morning. Don’t be offended if I attempt to
hide my face.
Sprinkle
Maybe it was
stress-induced or maybe it is a hazard of working with little ones day in and
day out, but it was my turn to catch the cold that keeps on giving. It was
nothing big, but making itself at home in my nasal passages on the last week of
school before the Christmas break was not quite appreciated. I powered through
though and even continued with my training schedule for the half marathon I’ve
been preparing for. (Don’t ask me why I have continued to train for this half
marathon even after receiving the unexpected news of a 4th little
Borta on the way in early July. People say that once you start running you fall
in love with it. I must be missing some vital piece of this puzzle since I can
honestly say that running 4 miles at 5am in 35 degree weather—and with a cold
to boot--has never once invoked a feeling of love.) The weight of the world and the various items
I was collecting on my plate were getting a little heavy.
Rain (or should I say flood . . . literally)
Christmas break was so close I
could taste it. With the cold and sinus infection making its exit none too
soon, I was looking forward to having time to relax and enjoy some peace and
quiet at home. It came as quite a shock on that Friday morning (the last day
before the break) when we came downstairs to find water coming out of our walls
and up through our wood flooring (that we laid less than a year ago and were
paying off THIS month). Little did I realize that the sound of someone cutting
into our walls four days before Christmas was just the opening act to the headlining
show—the industrial fans that would turn our house into a wind tunnel for the
next five days. Surely God was trying to teach us something, but what? As we
headed out of town the day after Christmas, the workers moved in to tear out
walls and our beloved floors. We couldn't wait to return home to see what Santa’s helpers had left us! As we
were told though, it could have been much worse.
Downpour
Of course things
can always be worse. We know it in our heads, but we don’t usually anticipate
that things actually will. We just knew God was going to work things out and we
praised God for the joys we were able to experience during the holidays. What
else could possibly happen? The first mistake was asking.
Paul and I came
down with some mutant cold/flu that knocked us flat on New Year’s Eve and we
rang in the New Year (at 8pm) with a box of tissues and a lot of fever-reducing
medication. Life doesn't stop when you are sick though, right? We had big
plans. In hindsight, maybe the decision to keep our plans and take the kids to
the snow the next day may not have been the best idea. But how harmful could a shopping
trip to Walmart be?
We realized soon
after starting our shopping adventure that it was going to go downhill fast.
Cadynce was starting to get sick and the other girls were tired, so I decided
to take one for the team, send Paul home with the kids, and I would just shop
by myself and get it done. There I was, perusing the spices, when the call
came. “Honey, how is our insurance? I just hit someone.” That was the straw
that broke the camel’s back. As I stood there in disbelief, trying not to have
a total breakdown in the middle of the Walmart aisle, I finally had to laugh.
“LORD, REALLY?”
Each of you could probably share a story similar to mine.
All of us have had those times in our lives where we wonder what God is doing. What else can possibly go wrong? Lord, what is
your plan in all of this?
Sorry, everyone. I don’t have the answers, but I know a God
who does. I have a car that is not fixed, holes in my kitchen walls, wood
floors that are ripped up, a car with a crunched bumper, and a lingering cough
that won’t quit. I don't have the solutions to each of the things I’m dealing
with or know why they seem to have come upon me all at once. But God has a plan
and purpose. We may not know what that plan or purpose is, but our
confidence is in Him, His goodness, and ultimately His love for us. I know
who is in control and I know that He will work all these things for good.
Proverbs 19:21 ESV - Many are the plans in the mind of a
man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.
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