What a clogged drain taught me about God...

I like to cook.  I think I've shared that before.  If you know me, you know this.  I like to eat, too.  Probably more than I like to cook.  Because when you eat, you don't have to do the clean up like you do if you cook.  I don't like to do the clean up.  I do it, because if I don't, I'll have nothing to cook or eat off of the next day.

I'm notorious for throwing things down the garbage disposal.  Especially the way our apartment is layed out now.  It's so much easier to scrape a pear or a potato over the sink than the trash.  Generally it isn't a problem.  It can take it.  I've thrown the things that are on the approved list: pear peelings, the ends off my green beans, leftovers, etc.  I've also thrown in the big No-no's: egg shells, potato peelings, an apple core (it was chopped into pieces already!).  It really hasn't been a problem.  The Hubs has taught me well how to make one run properly.  Only use cold water so it doesn't overheat.  Don't let it run too long.  Throw in some dish soap to lubricate once in a while.  I even throw in the lemons to make it smell nice.

So, you can see why it was such a surprise that my garbage disposal decided to vomit on me tonight. There I was just minding my own business, peeling my sweet potatoes, trimming my green beans.  Then when I went to 'dispose' of everything, the disposal didn't do it's job.  It gurgled and banged and then swooshed!  With that swoosh came a HUGE amount of water that typhooned all over me and the kitchen.  So, I did what I normally would do in this situation.  I turned off the water and disposal and then yelled for the Hubs.  Naturally, he came downstairs and had it fixed within 15 minutes.

As I sat here, reading a book and waiting for him to be done so I could finish cooking, I started thinking.  What would I do if he wasn't here?  That has been a valid question before since he has done 2 deployments to Iraq.  Would I call our maintenance guys?  Would I attempt to fix the clogged sink on my own?  Would I call a friend for help?  or Would I just be more careful about what I put down the drain?!  Knowing me, it would be the latter.

Having dealt with deployments and other absences, I smiled because I was so thankful that the Hubs was, in fact, here and I could once again throw things haphazardly into the garbage disposal.  I had faith.  Faith that if it clogged or broke, he could fix it.  It isn't a blind faith.  I've seen him fix the sink, tub, electrical outlet, car, washing machine, etc.  You name it, he's probably had to fix it for me.  

And this is what made me think about God, particularly my faith in Him.  I'm so timid, so shy, so anxious.  Why?  Because a lot of the time I behave as if I'm in this on my own.  As if I would have to 'fix the sink by myself.'  But that isn't the case.  God is there.  He's there to help.  I can go into most situations without fear because I know that He is there with me and ready to fight, rescue, or strengthen me.  And here's the thing: It, too, isn't a blind faith!  He's shown Himself to be faithful to me, time and again.  And not just me, I've heard it from friends and family, read it in the Bible, heard about it on TV, radio, and in books.

This isn't a new revelation.  This isn't a new idea.  This isn't even new to me.  But it is something that I needed right now.  I know I'll probably need it again, but I'm thankful that I am able to find some good perspective out of a minor catastrophe!

Land, ho!!

Oh, where to start!!  I think I'll take a cue from one of my favorite singing (almost) nuns, Maria von Trapp and start at the very beginning, after all, it's a very good place to start.

A couple years ago, God gave the Hubs and I a couple clear directives.  One of those was to move to Middle Tennessee.  It was kind of odd, since the Hubs was on active duty at the time and since we owned land in Missouri where we'd always hoped to retire.  But, we listened.  It took a while, but we made it to Middle Tennessee, still a little unsure.

We knew that we needed to sell the land in Missouri and get some land in Tennessee, but we weren't entirely sure how we were going to go about this.  You see our place in MO, had earned a pretty funny nickname: The Barn of Many Wonders.  We had acquired quite a mass of things and not just little things here and there, but some rather LARGE things.  Like cars, car parts, furniture, and a '47 2 ton truck.  In other words, the contents wouldn't really fit in a Uhaul.  Still, we knew what we had to do.

So we did it.  It worked out great, really.  This past summer (2013), the house we were renting sold.  It kinda freaked us out at first, but we started looking for places to rent.  We found one, but it wouldn't be ready for a month or so, so we decided to got to Missouri and stay with my fam.  While there, the Hubs could go over to our land and start clearing out the junk and liquidating the rest.  When he wasn't in SWMO (Southwest Missouri), he built a bathroom for my parents, but that's another post entirely.

So, with the barn empty (mostly), we listed the land and waited.  We were blessed because it really didn't take long.  I'm not sure the exact date we listed, but we moved into our new place at the end of August/beginning of September and we closed on the land at the end of October.  It was awesome and scary all at the same time.  We'd completed our first phase, but now we were without land.  For the Hubs, it was the first time in his life that he'd been without land.

The TN land search was underway.  We searched, high and low.  All over middle TN, and let me tell you, that is a large area.  It took a while, a lot of help from our real estate agent (a blessed man!), and a LOT of work from the Hubs, but we finally found our place and closed last week (3 Jan 14)!

So, what now?  Well, a lot of work to begin with.  This particular piece of land has been severely mistreated.  It's going to take a bit to get it taken care of properly.  After that, we'll begin our home.  We've already been drawing up plans for homes and I've been pinning like mad.  I have no idea when we'll actually break ground or even be finished, but I cannot wait.

The other big part of our plan isn't quite as easily named.  We want chickens and a garden and to be as 'green' as possible (even though, I detest that term) and be somewhat sustainable.  I don't really like the term homestead and farm isn't acurate and we're definitely not 'preppers.'  The best term I've heard used is 'farmette,' but I think that is just because it's a fun word and a little bit girly.  (Kinda like the time the Hubs and I laughed and refered to him as Quasi-Clergy, just because it was a funny word). I don't like to label it and I don't think I identify with any of those groups either.  I do like to read from each of those areas and I think we'll incorporate several of those ideas, but not the entirety.  

In any event, we are heading in a new area and as scary as it is, I'm really excited.  I know that it is a huge undertaking and we really do have quite a road ahead.  I hope to detail it here.  I really want to have some sort of log of our journey and progress.  First up will be some pics, but I'm telling ya, it is not in a good condition right now.