We had trouble with the
gas man.
Last week started fairly normal on Monday morning. Chris has the day off, and the only extra plans we had was Hannah attending Vacation Bible School at a local church. We had decided to put the house on the market last Friday, which meant finishing up the last few house projects.
So Chris began in the morning by working on removing the glue stuck to our front porch from the old carpet that we had torn up. As he was working, he smelled gas out front and so we called the gas company. They came out in the afternoon and found two leaks at the valves on the outside of the house, so our gas was turned off until we could fix those.
After a trip to the plumbing store for new valves (they only had one), we quickly figured out we would need to call a plumber in the morning to get them replaced.
Tuesday morning, the plumber comes, fixes the valves, and we call the gas company back to turn the gas on. No such luck, there are still leaks. We call the plumber again.
Wednesday morning, the plumber comes, puts pressure in the lines and finds two more leaks and fixes them. He puts pressure in the line again to test it and there are still leaks, this time somewhere in a hidden pipe. The plumber tells us he can either randomly start opening walls to find the leak or we call a leak detection company (not cheap!).
We opt for the leak detection company and they come out Thursday morning. He finds three more leaks. The plumber comes back and fixes those, one of which involved cutting two holes in the walls by the fireplace.
Meanwhile, Caleb is not feeling well all day. By late that afternoon he has a fever of 103.3. I call Kaiser, and after convincing them that I do not want to wait on hold for 45 min to an hour just to talk with a nurse (a frantic mother can be persuasive), we get through to someone who tells us to go to urgent care. This would normally be an easy thing to do, except that it's already 5 pm, Hannah has her VBS performance that evening at 6 pm, and Chris is supposed to be at practice with the worship team. Instead he meets us at urgent care to pick up Hannah and take her to her performance, while Caleb and I wait to see a doctor. The doctor tells us he has croup, to expect a rough evening, and the best way to alleviate the croup cough is with steam from the shower. We have no hot water.
Caleb and I get home at about 7, and he is already asleep so we set up the humidifier in his room. By the grace of God he slept well and only woke up twice.
We call the gas company back to turn the gas on. No such luck, there are still leaks. This time we were able to isolate it to the underground pipe between the meter and where it enters the house.
Friday morning, Chris starts digging up the pipe in front of the house. We discover that it's very old cast iron pipe and three different plumbers tell us it has to be replaced. It's a job that involves a permit and inspection by the city, so we get a plumber lined up to fix it on Saturday. Caleb was also feeling much better that day so we figured it was a mild case of croup.
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| By day 5 I had busted out the Coleman stove, determined to have hot water and make tea |
Saturday morning, the plumber and his crew show up and have it fixed by early afternoon. Yay! We call the gas company and wait for them to come out again to turn the gas on. However, Caleb was very lethargic again that day, and woke up with a lot of discharge from his left eye. That afternoon I take him back to urgent care and get a diagnosis of pink eye. While I'm out getting his prescription, Chris calls to tell me the gas is finally back on! That night we do hot showers, two loads of laundry, and two loads through the dishwasher.
All that to say, we couldn't list the house on Friday. It was a very hard week for Chris and me. Chris' knee is still healing from his knee surgery, so he's limited in how long he can walk/stand/work on projects. I was trying all week to get the house spruced up for showing, but when you have a sick toddler that just wants to be held and a plumber in and out of your house almost every day, that's not an easy thing to do. I had to cancel plans with three friends last week, dear friends who I was looking forward to spending time and praying with. I ended up feeling very isolated.
We knew in our minds that opposition and difficulties were going to come in this process of moving and being obedient to the call of God. But somehow, when it actually hits, it is still overwhelming. I felt like this was a test for me, how well was I going to handle these unexpected challenges? Sadly, I felt very defeated and overtaken by my emotions and fears. But God is good and ever so patient with us. He has walked us through and even provided some financial support that we did not expect.
So hopefully I will learn from this bump in the road and when the next one comes, remember that He got us through this one and my faith will be a little stronger and more sure next time.
"All the paths of the Lord are loving and faithful"
Psalm 25:10 I have pondered this verse lately, and have found that it
feeds my spirit. All does not mean "all - except the paths I am walking
in now," or "nearly all - except this especially difficult and painful
path." All must mean all. So, your path with its unexplained sorrow or
turmoil, and mine with its sharp flints and briers - and both our paths,
with their unexplained perplexity, their sheer mystery - they are His
paths, on which he will show himself loving and faithful. Nothing else;
nothing less.
-Amy Carmichael
