Tuesday’s Trench Lesson

Coffee Hour @ Chicklit Power...

Grab your favorite beverage and get comfy for a few…you’re going to love this Tuesday’s trench lesson with Lea! 

It Will Be Worth It

            The new school year is starting, and we are getting all our things in order! We are all nervous, excited, and just want it to start. The waiting is murder. It’s no different for our family! As we were driving around getting all of our last minute items, the car decided that it would be the perfect time to stop working! Thankfully we were able to walk home since we were only a few blocks away. I let my husband know what was going on, so we could determine our next move. When he got home from work, he was tired and in a frustrated mood. He says, “When it rains, it pours.” I know he was also thinking that we never see the sun, because it is always raining.

            I want to give you a little background on us, so you can see my husband's perspective. We have been married for ten years, and have had a few mishaps that I feel keep him from seeing the sun and cause him to feel it’s always raining:

Nine years ago, when our son was being born, we had a scare that we would lose him due to a doctor error. Seven years ago, when our daughter was just a baby, my husband was falsely accused of threatening a coworker, and was suspended for a month while they investigated. We were evicted and had to move up the street to a mobile home park. About five years ago, that home burned down in the middle of the night, destroying everything. Anything that might have been salvaged was stolen by looters. A year after that, my husband and I both needed surgeries, and lost time at work for those. We have owned six cars and they have all had constant problems. As soon as one gets up and running, the other breaks down. Our refrigerator broke last week, and we had to get a new one. Now, his car is overheating, and my car won't start. This is what my husband sees.

            What I see is my son as a healthy, relatively happy nine-year-old boy. I see that we were able to get a loan to move into a mobile home park up the street. I see that we all got out of our house fire alive. Yes, we were in PJs. Yes, it was embarrassing to walk into Walmart to buy clothes in skimpy pajamas. But I still see the Red Cross when they gave us a donation to buy new clothes. I see the LDS church giving us all new furniture, clothing, and food once we got another mobile home to live in. I see that we have medical insurance to pay for our surgeries. I see that time and time again, we find a way to fix the cars. We usually have at least one up and running, and the few times we did not, we could always find a ride. I see that my mom loaned us money to get a new fridge. Now I see that my friend is giving me a connection to a mechanic that doesn't charge much for poor folks like us.

            No, I am not always happy and thankful. I get frustrated. I don't understand why we have all these trials; I just know that we will survive them, and learn from them. We are getting stronger. My faith continues to grow. I know that the Lord is always providing for us. My husband has that faith also, but as a man, he needs to provide for the family. Even though we always make it through and get by, we are not “The Haves.” We are “The Have Not’s.” I am okay with that. I have faith, and I know that in the next world, I will be “A Have.” I will be with my Heavenly Father. I will have everything I ever dreamed of, and so much more.

It is so hard to remember that sometimes in the middle of another downpour, but I have to keep reminding myself. I know I am learning and growing here with these trials for a reason, and I believe that God is a loving God, and He will show us his perspective some day.

            This quote is not actually in the scriptures; someone somewhere just said it, but I really like it. I cannot tell you the source of this quote, but I will share it with you anyway. Someone said that the Lord told us this: I never said it would be easy, but it will be worth it! I don't know that He ever said that to anyone, but I can just imagine Him looking at me with love in his heart, and those words on His lips. Thereafter I can promise you friends, it most definitely will be worth it my friends! Until next week, I love you.

Lea

And to Lea, I say thank you so much for your beautiful transparency and I add this P.S. in and from the scriptures (John 16:33) "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." May this truth encourage your heart!