When It Rains, It Pours

There's nothing like being kicked when you're already down. 

The hubs needed to get some things from the basement yesterday, and to our dismay, when he went downstairs and found water in the basement. Well, we thought it was just water...turns out it was something way way worse. It was backed up sewage. Yeah. Nasty. Not something we wanted to see when walking downstairs. Standing sewage water. All throughout the basement. The worst part: a lot of it went into the washing machine. Disgusting.

So this is all discovered yesterday and we have to vacate the house. We have no use of the bathrooms, which is a problem. Thanks to my mom and dad for putting us up for the night.

Let me tell you that my husband is amazing! He went to work right away getting things out of the nastiness and sucking up the water while I took the Bug and ran went to the parents' house. 

Unfortunately, all of these complications with our sewage more than likely means that we need our septic tank flushed. That costs money. Money we don't have because it apparently you have to jump through more hoops than a circus to get your business license here. But this morning we found a "fall special" online and we knew we could make that work.

One problem, our septic tank wasn't full. 

It was a clog. 

That wasn't a part of the "fall special." 

But it had to be fixed. It had to. We kind of need to use our dishwasher, washing machine, and bathrooms to live. So we had to dip into savings and use what we had to get fixed. 

And it hurt. We don't have the income coming in. It has been extremely difficult to get the hubs's business started. And extremely expensive. It's borderline ridiculous and extremely frustrating. We're trying to figure out how to gather the money and get things started, because we believe that once things get started, God is going to do wonderful things. But the problem is getting the ball rolling. There have been so many things stopping us and redirecting us and curve ball after curve ball have been thrown in our direction. 

Today, I posted on my Facebook page asking for people to share with me their favorite "God will provide" verses. Here is what they gave me:

1 || 2 || 3 || 4

Pretty good verses to meditate on. 

Now the trick is to trust those verses. So I go to bed tonight trusting that God will provide all we need. We will wake up tomorrow with a new day and will trust that God will give us exactly what we need, no more and no less. 

And tomorrow brings a much needed date night with the hubs! 

Struggles

I like to claim that I am a positive person. I like to picture the glass half full. Most times, more than half full. I find myself to be a dreamer. A person filled with hope. I like looking at the bright side of things.

So when things get dim, I start to struggle.

Things are dim. Things are worse than dim. They're getting dark. I know I need to focus on the good, and the fact that God will provide, but right now things are looking dim in my normally bright world.

I find myself looking at others and seeing into their lives. People I see who are buying new homes that are twice the size of mine. People going on vacation. People buying new things. Nice things. Things that I can't afford.

The hubs and I can't go on vacation. We can't buy new things. Our small home will have to last us for a while. Heck, we can't even afford to go on a simple date right now.

I find myself coveting things. Wanting things. Yearning for things. 

As of now, we are living on a very strict budget with enough room to pay for our house and utility bills (including phone and internet). We have little left over for food (but there is money for food..we're not going hungry) and gas. It's tight. The hubs's job will cover that and my part-time job will help out with medical bills. But I work for a non-profit, so if the money doesn't come in, I don't get paid. It can get stressful. 

It's getting stressful.

I don't like this "cup is half empty" thinking, but I do seem to go there a lot lately. Especially when I start thinking of all the things I would love to do with my family. 

But it's in the midst of all of these stressors that God likes to whisper in my ear. 

picture and words added by me

How encouraging is this?! God knew that I would have trouble, so He sent His Son to overcome the world. For me. Me. How amazing is that? 

Tonight, I am clinging to this verse. Tomorrow, I will cling to this verse. For the next few weeks, months, years, or however long it takes for us to get back on our feet, I will cling to this verse.

"In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33

I share this with you in hopes that you see my struggles. It's hard to be the cup is half full girl. I'm trying to be. But it's not easy. Especially now when it's the first of the month and bills are due and I'm seeing how we're going to struggle. But I'm taking heart because my LORD and Savior has overcome this world. Also, I want you to see just how amazing my God is and how He takes my struggles and works them for His good.