If I passed go I'm almost certain I didn't collect my $200 dollars!

Welcome to my Tuesday edition of “Let’s Make A Deal” on this 7th day of October 2008. Lately I’ve been choosing what’s behind a lot of different doors with very little to show for it, however, we did open one over the weekend that we believe came from God. If you are a regular reader of my blog you are aware of our housing situation. Finding a place nearby while ours is being rebuilt has been very challenging. However, a dear sister in Christ who is active in the Bible study I teach connected us up with a furnished house not presently being used. Her sister-in-law who uses it to winter here owns this house. We actually got to know the sister-in-law during the passing of our dear sister’s husband who was a wonderful man of God and also the sister-in-law's brother. At any rate, we have worked out the details and will be taking her up on her gracious offer and moving in later this week. This will reduce my commute by well over an hour each day and make my wife’s about the same as it was before the storm. We were blessed with so many offers and we are so thankful for each one but this particular situation seemed to be the right one and we give God thanks for it.

I have discovered some very important facts thus far through this process. When you are smack dab in the middle of one of the most costly storms in history, finding well qualified contractors who can even come and view your property, much less commit to doing the work, is an extremely difficult task to accomplish. That’s not to say you couldn’t find a warm body but it’s the ‘well qualified’ with a good track record that has complicated the issue. Many of the most reputable are already booked for months in advance. Other good ones are willing to try but they too are running behind. Since it is the 100% responsibility of the homeowner to locate and choose the building contractor, I refuse to accept poor quality prospects. We desire to be back in our home by the middle of December if at all possible but if every journey begins with a first step, we need to be making that first one real soon.

Meanwhile the only 100% that seems to be working at this time is the frustration saturation level of the homeowner. Over the past two weeks I have been transferred most likely at least 100 or more times only to find myself typically at the wrong location or wrong person. I have been given the run around, confusing information, and at times incoherent instructions. All the while I can hear that big old clock ticking away. I’m certainly doing my best not to let it get to me but there’s no way around the process. My reading says the homeowner work effort requires nearly a full time person to do what needs to be done. This would be okay if not for the full time job I already have which rightly deserves my full attention. Let me see if I can put this overflow mathematical equation into some understandable perspective. Maybe cloning is a viable alternative. Just joking. Bottom line, I must seek God’s help each day while trying to juggle and keep all the different balls up in the air at the same time. When I’ve done my best to do all I can with all the resources available to me, I must then learn to be content with the results. All I can tell you is seeing this happen will take some doing but with God’s help we will get there! Amen. …More later.