"Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense."... Proverbs 19:11
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Argh.
Last night a construction guy and his protegee came by. We'd like to replace our back door with one that's not a cinch to break into, you know, because of the easily-breakable piece of glass beside the doorknob. Well, it took both guys an inordinate amount of time to figure out just what we were saying. That we wanted an extra bit of security.
Hmm.
During his confusion, Construction Guy remarked upon our ridiculously tiny back porch, "How do you even get anything into the basement through here?", etc. And yes, our back porch is ridiculous, but did he have to mention that? No. It had nothing to do with the job we were asking him to do.
Next, the four of us went upstairs.
It took forever for both men to understand how we want the wall and door placed . My 2 bookcases already dividing the room confused one--he thought they were a pony wall. (Good grief.) Then both men said they had a better idea of how the wall should be, even though it would leave no storage space for Naomi's drums as I'd planned.
Then the contractor said the tops of houses like ours were never even meant to be inhabited rooms in the first place, just attics. He added that our stairs are not up to code. Well, that got me mad(der) and I told him that only 4 years ago this house was redone and the (professional) flipper had permits for everything.
He walked over to the stairs and explained more to Tom, but I stayed where I was lest I hit him. (Er hem.)
Oh my goodness. I was fuming. Only Tom, though, could tell that, if these men didn't leave fast, steam would soon shoot from my ears. And eyes.
I was actually relieved when Construction Guy said he was booked for big jobs till July and wouldn't have a free weekend for smaller ones for 2 months.
And after they did finally leave? You should have heard me muttering. "Come in here and criticize my house, will you?! Who do you think you are? The nerve. I'll go wall-less and door-less before I hire the likes of you."
Of course, ol' takes-a-nuclear-war-to-bother-him Tom told me to calm down. Let it go. Forget about it.
Sigh.
Anyway, this morning I'm reminding myself that these tests are good. They tend to suck the pride right out of us. They come to show us our weaknesses and how much we need God's strength. How far we've come, how far we've yet to go. And to remind us how powerful this thing called Peace is and hence, how important it is to keep it.
And to allow Peace to lead us to places God wants us to be, places where Offense could never, ever take us.
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"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands." ...Isaiah 55:12
"Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger ..." ...James 1:19
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Another prepper note:
Have you looked into thermal cooking yet? Here's a youtube video to get you started. Think crockpot cooking off The Grid. Super easy, especially if you're using everything canned: meat, potatoes, carrots, etc.
It's a great way to cook when you don't have sunshine for your solar cooker.
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I found this tiny house adorable.
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Naomi and her cats are at this moment traveling, moving home from Georgia. Any prayers for their safety today and tomorrow would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
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Debra, isn't it amazing how quickly we can get all steamed up? Some days I am shocked at my responses. Frustration comes in the back door and peace leaves through the front door. In fact, one of the blessings of growing older/wiser is that it doesn't take us as long to realize that God is in every single detail (even remodeling). There's an answer out there. Just believe. BTW, I wondered if your door (with the side glass) could be made safer by installing one of those metal grids over the glass;attaching it to the inside wall (looks like wrought iron)? Will pray for Naomi.
ReplyDeleteHi Pam! Yep, it's surprising when we can go from just fine to having a fit in 2 minutes. :) I hadn't been that upset in a very long time--I kinda took comfort in that fact. heh.
ReplyDeleteIn the case of our back door, the wrought iron idea wouldn't work because someone could still easily slip their hand to the door knob. It's the kind of door where half of it is 9 panes of glass. We've decided to go with a door that has a half-circle window at the top--that construction guy was good for at least one thing--we'd considered a door like our front one, but he said it would need to be special-ordered. The half-circle type is available everywhere.
We have a great storm door with the current back door which is a single heavy sheet of glass with a dead bolt, but looking ahead to the times which may come, we'd still like to be a little safer.
Thanks for commenting! Blessings, Debra