When it Rains It Pours

It's been a pretty interesting past few weeks in our household. One thing after another after another. As I was walking across the church parking lot yesterday morning, I ran into a friend of mine and she asked if our newest grandchild had been born yet. No, I told her...probably this Wednesday. Then I told her Dear Hubby's father died, that I'm going in for surgery a week from today. Marianne kind of reared back her head and peered at me thru her tri-focals and said, "My goodness, but you guys are certainly getting hit by trials lately, aren't you?!" Ummmm...yes. We are.

This morning the phone rang just before 5:30 am and it was Dear Hubby. "I just wanted to let you know I got here ok but the truck's dead." Oh well. It's been acting sluggish for the past couple of weeks when he's tried starting it, so this news didn't surprise me. He's been saying he's thought it's a faulty battery, a short somewhere, or the starter going out. So the plan is for me to get a hold of our mechanic when he opens later this morning and let him know we'll be coming by later today with the truck. Then Dear Hubby will get a jump from one of the guys at work and I'll drive my truck out to Gary's to pick him up once he drops off the vehicle after work. It's always something, isn't it?

I don't get paid much for baby sitting Dylan, but we've come to rely on the money. Knowing I'm going to be without that income coming in hasn't been particularly stressing me...I'm quite good at robbing Peter to pay Paul and juggling finances...but I know we'll be tightening the belt a little bit until my daughter-in-law goes back to work. I've also had the knowledge our tax return should be arriving some time soon, too, which would give us some much-needed breathing room. Saturday morning I sat down to check our bank balance before I went out to do some grocery shopping and when it came on the screen I sat here blinking for a moment or two, wondering if I needed to clear my eyes. Both returns had been deposited, Federal and State!

And for $1000 more than what I'd figured it out to be! An IRS mistake in our favor??? Hmmmmmmm. I'm not going to touch much of it until I know for sure that $1000 doesn't disappear as mysteriously as it appeared, HA! But at least we have more than enough to take care of a truck repair.

In almost 34 years of marriage, we've weathered a lot of tough times together. Dear Hubby had a kidney removed when our daughter was 6 months old. He lost a job when our son was born and we plummeted down to the brink of financial ruin. We've made some stupid choices...ignorant choices...in our early years together, especially one concerning a house we purchased. We've lost parents. There have been serious illnesses. Spiritual dilemmas. But somehow, with the Lord's help, we've survived them all. We've learned not to sweat the small stuff...the truck repairs, the broken washer, the plumbing problems. We've learned that even the mountains that come along, the ones that seem too high to scale, all we need to do is hold on and eventually we get up even the slipperiest slopes, then slide down the other side. Sure, we all love the easy times, the sweet times when there's a birth in the family or watching your child marry the love of their life. Those are the moments, as a married couple, you really savor. Because sooner or later something hard comes along. It's the sweet moments that you can look back on to give you the strength to face the hard times, the faith in believing that even this, too, shall pass. And what I've learned thru it all is that even the hard times have their moments of sweetness, too...when you know you can lean upon each other, take strength from the other, and you know they're going to be there for you. That you're there for them, too. That every gossamer thread of experience weaves a tapestry that is yours together. Sometimes the threads are stretched so taut you wonder if they'll snap...that's where there might be a weak spot in the fabric. But, overall, the tapestry continues on. And what emerges is the story of two people, of two lives blended into a life uniquely their own. Together.