Freezing broken water pipes, strep throat, & Crazy Kids

This is the time of year where things should settle down a bit....right? Wrong...around Christmas always seems to be one of the most hectic seasons. There is shopping to do, sicknesses going around, driveways to shovel, shopping to do, random birthday parties to go to, houses to clean, relatives to prepare for, and did I mention shopping to do? That's just getting started. With all there is to do where do we find time to enjoy the the things that matter the most?

This year I entered the holiday season with much anticipation. I was very excited to show my kids what it means to give, especially around a time when it's so easy to want. Things were going great...I got my tree up a day or two after Thanksgiving, decorated the house a little, started listening to Christmas Music (thank you Buble & Harry Connick Jr.), and really felt a peace. Then some things started to happen. My kids, who are amazing, seemed to get agitated really easy for days. I figured it was because they were stuck inside so much because of the weather, but we worked through it. Then my oldest son got scarlet fever, but that cleared up in a day or two with antibiotics. Next came more weird stuff that I can't remember, followed by my daughter getting scarlet fever. I took her to the doctor, got the medicine, got her all better, then I got strep throat. I felt terrible, couldn't move, and was out for the count. Of course that next morning I woke up to see that my garage door had been left open while the temp dropped from 30 degrees to -3 (-30 with wind chill). I don't know a lot, but that wasn't good for our water pipes which are exposed in the garage. With Frozen water pipes we headed off to church for my youngest sons dedication, while I fought the chills and shivers. I got home to see that my pipes had thawed out (from a heater I placed in the garage), and they had burst- spraying water all over the place. I got the water shut off, but had no energy at all to get it fixed. We went to a friends house for the afternoon to try and get better and have running water. By night time I felt ok enough to get home and try and patch it for the night. I got the patch on, but it would need to be fully replaced the next morning. By the next morning I felt a lot better- so I took a quick lesson on youtube on how to replace water pipes. It looked like things were in the clear, then our Van was having issues that involved me walking home from a store with 2 kids, riding my bike back and forth to get the situation fixed in the freezing rain, and finally getting home soaking wet, to a wife who started feeling the same symptoms that I just had.

I know that was a lot of information and I am sure that many of you know exactly what that is like. Some of you have relatives overseas serving our country, some fighting illness, others facing marriage problems that seem impossible, while others feel alone and unheard. It's just important for us to reflect on those things because through it all the world keeps spinning. Whether I am faced with those things or not I am a still a child of the King, and He completely understands what is going on. The Bible talks about Jesus as a “man of sorrows acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). He knew what fear was, endured physical suffering, hunger, cold, and sorrow. He cried...and even had questions for his Father. Questioning God is not the problem.

In Habakkuk 1:2 we see a man who is calling out for God to hear his prayers, but feels like he's being ignored. He may have prayed as long as 12 years for justice without hearing from God. But He learned something during that time: That God wasn't ignoring him, he was just working behind the scenes. In chapter 1 verse 13 he asks God why the wicked around him are being blessed by God. Many times I ask God the same things: Why are others seemingly thriving, while I just get by?

In Habakkuk 2:4 it says, "the righteous shall live by his faith-." This means that we have to believe that God is big enough to see me through whatever it is I am up against. He wants to see your marriage restored, and your son from home from overseas, and your daughter brought back to the lord. My pastor says something like, "the thing we focus on the most will become all that we see." Sounds obvious...but he continues to say that if all we are looking at is this little mole hill of a problem, that "thing" will become a mountain. It will overshadow everything we do. But if we look to the Father, and see that he has better plans for us, then we can overcome anything. God can use those things as a stepping stone for a greater understanding of who He is, and where he wants to take us.

As the year runs out of days I am reminded of all that God has seen my family through. I remember thinking at the beginning of last year that this year was going to be a challenge. Looking back now I see how many great things God has done, and still wants to do. Be encouraged no matter what you face, that God wants to take you through through it all.