So …Joyce Meyer’s devotional this morning reads (Closer to God Each Day) “the devil will give up when he sees that you are not going to give in”.

Hmmm.

How was your week?

I had a lovely breakfast and pedicure with my mom to celebrate her birthday Tuesday…during which I received a call and numerous texts wondering why I did not show up to my job. Nice feeling to screw up your schedule again and no call/no show to your professional place of employment.

Wednesday was a day full of preparation. I had a long time with the Lord in the morning before I planned out my Sunday School lesson and that evenings grief support lesson. The session was to go over the question “why“…it’s a pretty big deal question for those who are grieving. I also received a text to inform me of potential new joiners for the evening. It being a rather deep lesson for someone who is freshly grieving to walk into caused me to want to really prepare: what does it mean to lament? Is it ok to question God? What do I do when I don’t get the answers I seek?

I was ready and told my girlfriends that I felt emotionally and spiritually ready finally to face the class after a drought I had been feeling since January. I felt my zeal had returned.

At 5pm, my son wanders into the basement to play a video game. He comes upstairs a little later to inform me that the carpet feels “damp”.

I live in Michigan…we are wet here! Tons of rain and warm air that has melted a ton of snow on top of still frozen ground so all the condensation has zero place to go…that means flooding.

We have standing water in our back yard that looks like I could put my kayak in for a good time!

I head down stairs to assess the scene and, yup, we have water.

Did I mention my husband is in Atlanta?

I should also interject here that my Mr. Fix -It skills are rather lacking…

My sump pump either quit working or is overwhelmed to do the job that all this massive water accumulation is causing it to do.

I call my boys to the basement and call my husband for HELP.

As the minutes go by I realize I need to get to my class very very soon…how on earth can I do that? My basement is under water….

I was forced to throw up the white flag of surrender and called my pastor hoping he would answer the call for help and not be busy.

Thankfully, he did! He not only fascilitated my class for me but he also found someone to come ovef and work a miracle on my sump pump to get her going again…unbelievable!

Another miracle was that I only yelled a little at my boys and my frustrated husband only yelled a little at me during this time.

If you are married with children and own a home you will understand the shear magnitude of that truth!

WATER IN A BASEMENT IS STRESSFUL PEOPLE!

The boys and I managed to round up some dehumidifiers and set up camp for the evening to make sure our “fix” held…

All the while this is happening, my husband was trying to finish a deal for a kitten purchase…it was a long distance transaction with a multitude of unusual steps to ensure his arrival on Saturday…something the whole hkuse was excited for.

The boys and I decided to relax and watch a movie together -Thor (😁). We were all cozy in the living room, feeling thankful that the “flood” was caught when it was so the damage was not worse, grateful for the help of our pastor and the availability of the man who was able to help me out for free….

All seemed right with my world.

Then, my husband texted and said we were the “victims” of pet fraud….how on earth is there such a thing??!

Long story short, it appeared we were scammed foolishly out a small yet significant amount of money in our purchase of our newest family member. My husband was working hard to get our money back sussessfully…but now we have no kitten.

Disappointing.

This morning is Thursday: I have coffee grounds in my coffee, a wet basement, and no kitten.

BUT~I am not defeated. I am frustrated, yes….but, as my devotional reads, I have learned to “stand my ground and effectively resist the devil”.

I did not swear.

I did not cry.

I did not have a temper tantrum.

I did not fight with my spouse.

I did not carry on in panic with numerous people to stir up the drama of it all.

I did not lose my cool (too much) with my kids.

Thank you Lord for teaching me how to have self control and for loving me through the big and small trials of life. Thank you for helping me to learn “to be stable in hard times” so I can be close to God and “press through any difficulties” I may face…especially when they seem to come like a flood.

The devil can just QUIT IT because I am not alone in my battles- I have a mighty King fighting with and for me.