I have to tell you something so amazing, I’m not sure where to start.
I have told you about our sewer problems before. Here and here and here. They have been an ongoing concern.
At our last meeting with the city people, the inspector, the engineer, and various other men that attended, all agreed that they were not at fault. Well, the sewer line guy didn’t say that, because he couldn’t. Someone from his department did not do their job, and even though he did not say anything, we knew.
We left that meeting with an understanding that they would do their own research as to how we could fix our problem, the problem most certainly not of their making. Even though they were not admitting responsibility, they wanted to be certain to get all up in our business to make sure that things would not be fixed incorrectly. That would just be wrong.
That was in October. You can imagine getting all those schedules coordinated takes some time. They finally called back and wanted to set up the meeting the week that we were in Florida. We said that was not going to work for us, and rescheduled for yesterday morning, the 19th of November. Two months and a day from when we found out that there were serious, problematic, expensive defects in our line. Before that, we were blissfully ignorant, and thought things could simply be fixed.
Honey and I have talked about this, on and off, for years, and more extensively, for months. Even before we knew the extent of the problem, we knew we would have to do something. We put things off until after the family reunion we had here in July, because nothing says PARTY like an exposed sewer line.
I think we have been concerned, but not consumed with this problem. We asked God to intervene on our behalf. We asked for the city to show us favor. To treat us like people that they knew and cared about. To be fair and helpful. We asked that the city would hear us.
Honey and I, and many of you, have been praying for a solution ever since. The plumbers solution was to reroute our entire sewer line, wrecking our entire basement in the process, adding a holding tank under the floor of our basement.. That option was the one that would cost more than our first house. We didn’t really like that option for many, many reasons. Plus, our city informed us, they didn’t like that option either. They wanted the tank on the outside of the house.
The city guys knew we needed a solution, and they knew they that whatever it was, they were going to have to approve it. They put their thinking caps on. Like Tom Terrific. The two solutions they came up with were complete destruction of the basement, as well as our bank account, with gravity feeds and tanks of sewage and pumps that always need to be fixed. This, and only this, was the focus. No other solution was available, we were back to the rock and a hard place.
It seemed like all was lost. The talking had stopped. Honey gave one final plea. He said that when we built our house 10 years ago, we paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to a builder, we paid almost $8,000 to the city to check the builders work. All we know is we did what we were supposed to do, and now it is all our responsibility, with no one accountable for the problem they caused. He didn’t loose his temper, he wasn’t accusing, he just spoke the truth. All were quiet.
And then, in a no win situation, God gave Roy, the guy who doesnt even do the sewer work for the city, an idea. Roy said, “Why can’t we just do this?” Honey said everyone started talking at once!
It was a GREAT idea! It would fix our problem, the city would approve it, it could be done! We would be able to sell our house when we were ready to leave it! It was amazing! It is still costly, but the basement and house will be intact!!!
And, it was a total God thing. All 8 of those men were professionals at what they do. They have to deal with these kinds of problems every day. They didn’t have an answer. They couldn’t solve the problem, they had looked into it for 2 months.
Our BSF lesson this week was John 6 with bits of Mark . The one where Jesus put the disciples into the boat and then He went to pray. A storm blew up and the waters grew rough. When he saw them struggling, He walked out on the water to them, and while at first they were afraid, they took him on board.
One of our questions asked if the disciples were in difficulty because they had sinned in some way, or because they had obeyed the Lord’s command.
Jesus put them into that boat. He knew the storm was coming, that was no surprise to Him. They were right where they were supposed to be. They obeyed and were still in rough waters.
We sang a song this week at BSF and the line that kept repeating over and over in my mind was “Trust Him when to simply trust Him seems the hardest thing of all”. We know that God hears our prayers, but we are more than aware that the answers are not always what we want to hear. We have no doubt that God can solve our problems, but the solution could be unsatisfying, or hard to get to, or painful. Or expensive, like this one.
Sometimes I feel like we are problem magnets. We have unusual things happen to us, sometimes in rapid succession. I have wondered if people think we are the most disobedient Christians around. Or just plain dense. Why else would we be tested over and over again?
That’s why I really liked this lesson. We can be right smack dab in the middle of God’s plan, and still be tossed around in the rough seas of life. God is never going to be finished refining us this side of heaven. We might as well get used to it. Because of the storms of life, we learn to trust Him more. And one thing we have learned over the years? God makes a way for us to navigate every storm. It hasn’t always been easy, but He has never left us hanging.
We are so thankful for this answered prayer! We are so thankful that some of you interceeded for us as well. You have no idea how that comforted us.
And Roy, bless his heart, was a kiss on the cheek, straight from God.
No Whining Allowed 
