Up a ladder in a gale.

Up a ladder in a gale.
The sky outside is a steely grey and the wind blew my washing around the garden. It caught one shirt in a tree. It was dry though! The cat was in an out several times this morning, clearly disgusted that her scent trails had been interfered with by the blustery wind. Either that or she couldn't understand what Jamie was doing up a ladder. It's a long story...

This year has been very difficult for us all. We've had a number of 'life events' to deal with, one after another and several things got knocked out of the picture while we dealt with them, including maintaining the house. There is so much needing to be done now. We want to at least get the thing watertight before winter really gets a grip. The front porch is a contructed of timber and brick and all the timber is rotting away nicely. Jamie has started to repair/replace and has done a good job considering he really doesn't know what he's doing. (Did I mention he's a great musician?)

We've also been busier than usual. The first part of the year was studded with numerous hospital visits for Grace. Three different hospitals, several doctors, two MRI's, investigations and assessments galore. And, in the second part of the year, Jamie has been moderately incapacitated by severe back pain, which needed hospitalisation at one point. He still can't sit for long or lie down to sleep. Months of that takes its toll.

The best thing about this year is the responsibility we've been called to by our church to help with the music. Jamie has been the 'Worship Leader' for about a third of the services. That takes a lot of planning, arrangements, research, Bible study, rehearsals etc to get right. I've been helping. And I've just started singing again too.

When you add to that, the time involved in teaching and training the kids, (especially one with Special Needs) ferrying them to their various activities, running a home and a home-business, well, the thing that got forgotten this year was maintaining the house and garden. It's looking a little delapidated and needs a lot of work. But we'd settle for just watertight!

I'm so thankful for this home of ours. Ten years renting is no fun, especially after you have owned your own home in the past. We were just so grateful that God gave us this opportunity again. It's more than bricks and mortar (and rotten timber) to us. It represents God's blessing and care. Though we did not deserve it, He heard our prayers and gave us a home of our own again.

We just need to make sure it doesn't fall down around us!