December 4, 2020 – Click here to listen
My wife is driving me bonkers concerning our new home. We are building in the Florida Keys and admittedly the workforce and the regulatory compliance people here march to a different drummer than anywhere I’ve ever lived. Obtaining permits and complying with them is archaic and had the Egyptians employed their tactics the pyramids would still not be completed.
The philosophy seems to be that if it doesn’t get done today, well there’s always tomorrow. If it’s sunny I’m going fishing – When it is wet, well it’s too wet to work. That leaves windy days for work – One guy down here actually has his business named Windy Days Plumbing . . .
It can be a maddening experience and my wife appears to be going mad as delay after delay is experienced. It’s not just impatience concerning getting the new home finished, it is finding a place to live while the process slowly grinds forward. Our rental home is expiring and someone else has rented it. All the snowbirds are arriving for the winter and rentals are sparse. We were told we would be in by early November at the very latest. Also, trying to coordinate movers coming from Jupiter to bring our furniture is a nightmare. It might not be so bad except they have all but condemned three bridges that we have to cross to get to our home and the load limit is just four tons. My car nearly weighs that. We are going to have unload the trucks and make numerous trips bringing it in one stick at time.
So my wife cannot understand how I just seem to take it all in stride. She rants that I just smile and tell her not to worry with all “this” going on. I asked if she would prefer that I would run around like my hair is on fire screaming, “we’re all going to die,” I don’t really see how that would change much but in the interest of peace of mind I’ll run around for a few minutes. I told her this ain’t Disneyland and life is just not perfect. I don’t like it any more than she does, but we just have to accept the good and the bad in life.
I’ve seen real adversity in life. I was homeless for nearly seven years and never will forget walking down the street and seeing a wino laying there dead. He had frozen to death in a drunken stupor the night before. I just kept right on walking as though nothing had happened chalking it up to life on the streets. I’ve seen little children in Mexico City begging for food in the freezing cold wearing newspapers wrapped around their feet for shoes. I believe seeing such suffering and/or experiencing it makes us appreciate what we have all the more.
When I look at the blessed life my wife and I lead I get real humble quick. We are building a multi-million dollar mansion in paradise and we have the moxie to complain about it taking too long.
It reminds me of a bumper sticker I once saw that said, “When you talk bad about the farmer – Don’t talk with your mouth full” – Gripe – gripe – gripe the people in this nation can’t seem to get enough of it. I’m sick of hearing about Covid, the election, the corruption of the Democrats and politicians in general and all the rest. I pray for a good outcome but am mentally prepared for the worst that life can mete out to me. It would have to go quite a way to equal what I’ve already lived through.
A friend told me I had been fatalistic in writing about the election and other things and I seem to take a “whatever-will-be-will-be attitude.” I asked him if he was familiar with the prayer Jesus Christ prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane the night that they arrested Him. Jesus knew what was coming and He knew it would be bad – VERY BAD. He was physically sweating blood just thinking about it. He pleaded with God, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” I’m just trying to do what Jesus did. I don’t like what has happened to our country and I don’t want to go through what will happen if indeed Biden and his swarm of anti-God crackpots get in, YET I WANT HIS WILL TO BE DONE AND NOT MINE! I don’t know the plans God has for His children, but I have no doubt whatsoever that they are good plans.
I feel the same about other things of which I have no control. I will do everything I can to get my new home completed and I will then move in and be settled soon enough. Gnashing my teeth, ranting, stressing out, will not change anything but deteriorate my health. The same holds true for all other valleys, (and peaks,) in life. We live our lives at the good pleasure of God. I’m fine with that. There are certain things we cannot control and I’m Okay with that. I’m not a control freak. Basically if you can’t do anything about it, don’t worry about it – Just pray and turn it over to God.
Isaiah 41:10
“So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Have a great weekend and go to church this Sunday!