A
leaky roof taught me, once again, that I can trust God with all things…
As
the mission trip got closer we started to have a lot of things happen that gave
us cause for concern and we began to question.
We
experienced several Obstacles:
1.
We had some wind and hail damage to our roof and had to make an
insurance claim.
2.
I was involved in a traffic accident where I was rear-ended and of
course I had whiplash for a few days and had to go to the doctor and physical
therapy. I had to deal with insurance and
deal with the body shop that could not obtain the correct part for two weeks.
3.
Our air conditioner froze up and stopped cooling; the same unit
that we replaced the furnace in earlier this year.
4.
The new, one-day-old roof began to leak during the first rain
storm.
5.
We had to deal with water damage repairs.
6.
Somehow I got poison ivy and had to go to the clinic and start a
round of prednisone. I don't like taking this stuff. It certainly helps but it has side effects.
We
realized that these so called obstacles are really Opportunities:
1.
Hey, we got a new roof and it only cost us our insurance
deductible! The roof was 13 years
old. We’ve been in the house going on 8
years and had to deal with at least 3 separate leaks in the old roof. We got to deal with a very reputable roofing
contractor that had helped one of my co-workers with a small repair. More on this tie-in later…
2.
I got to drive a much nicer rental car than what I normally drive
and the other party’s insurance paid for it and all the repairs. The doctor and PT were very helpful and I got
to meet a new PT that knows another person going on this mission trip to
Alaska. Small world.
3.
The service technician that installed our new furnace is the guy
they sent out to look at our AC issue.
He is a good Christian man and I enjoyed his company. He’s a straight shooter and helps save me
money on preventative maintenance and repairs.
I should have changed my filters sooner.
He added two pounds of refrigerant to the system, just in time for the
really hot days we’ve experienced since the issue. Same as with the furnace, we had a solution
in place before the real cold spell hit.
4.
Hey, what better timing for a roof to leak than the day after it’s
finished! I’d rather know now than when
I’m in Alaska so I can be around to take care of it and not burden my wife with
it. This is really the big story, but I’ll
come back to it at the end…
5.
The roofing contractor responded after-hours to my text messages
regarding the leak and had his crew chief on top of the house the next morning
to find and repair the problem. (One
piece of metal flashing ($0.50) and a properly cut shingle could have saved a
lot of hassle for everyone.) He also had
a drywall guy and painter out the next day to assess the inside repairs, which
were taken care of promptly and professionally.
I really liked all these guys and
felt blessed by them. I’m thankful God
brought them into my life to take care of these problems. I would hire them all again. The roofing contractor also gave us a gift
card so we could have dinner on him. We
used it for Father’s Day lunch and it was plenty.
6. Poison Ivy, really? Hey, I’m still trying to figure this one out, but I know that
there is a purpose and lesson in it so stay tuned.
I
left a few strands hanging in the items above and now I’d like to tie them all
together.
The
Revelation:
The
co-worker that recommended the roofing contractor is a Godsend. I had been working outside all day and was
sitting on the couch watching TV exhausted.
It had started raining pretty good and there were no signs of any leaks
so we continued to relax. My co-worker had
called earlier in the day and asked if he could borrow an ice chest. He called while I was sitting on the couch
and said he was on his way over, but then said it was raining pretty hard and
that he’d get it another time. I told
him to come on and that I’d bring it out to him. (I wanted to test out my new rain
jacket.) So my wife and I went into the
garage and got the ice chest down and I put my rain jacket on. We stood in the garage for several minutes with
the garage door open waiting to see his car approach. I ran out to his car and put the ice chest in
the trunk and headed back to the garage.
It was raining really hard. My
wife had gone back into the house and I began to take off my rain jacket and
inspect my shirt. It was a little wet on
the shoulders, so it really only meant for a light rain. It had passed the light rain test already,
but I needed to know if it was going to hold up to a heavy rain. Just like this roof, I needed to know if the
roof was going to hold up to the first good heavy rain. Well, about that time as I was inspecting my
jacket and shirt I heard something behind me.
I turned and looked to find a stream of water coming down from a
junction box in the garage ceiling and spilling out across the billiards table
we have parked where a car should be. I
acted quickly despite my shock and was fortunate to have had a good beach
towel, moving blanket, and 5 gallon bucket on hand. Even more, I was glad we kept a green plastic
protective cover over the pool table when not in use, so the felt stayed dry. My wife and I stood there in amazement. It had been raining for 30-60 minutes before
this leak occurred just at the right time for us to see and catch it. We would not have gone back out to the garage
until just before bedtime as we checked all the doors and lights. We might not have even noticed until the next
day.
Look,
God orchestrated all these events to point us to Himself and his provision for
us. We stood there thanking and praising
God, in the middle of a literal (rain) storm for a leaking roof, because it was
unmistakable that He was in control and He was demonstrating that right in
front of us! We realized, once again,
that we can trust God with all things.
You can to! Start by trusting Him
with the forgiveness of your sins and your eternal salvation. Let me know if you have any questions about
that…
That’s
why I’m here. To point others to Him!
For
His Glory,
John
