I took a Sabbath rest from people yesterday. That meant skipping church and missing out on one of the highlights of each week -- worshiping with my church family. But after a tumultuous and busy week, I really needed time alone to regroup. And quite honestly, I didn't have it in me to deal with anyone else's problems. I knew that if I went to church, inevitably someone would've needed something from me, and I just couldn't meet anyone else's needs... there was nothing left for me to give. Do you ever feel that way?
While my husband has been visiting friends in Virginia, I've been here trying to navigate through storms... physical and emotional. The physical storms started off by taking down branches and stealing away my electricity for an evening. That was minor, and only the beginning. On Thursday night, the rain also took out half of the street a couple doors down from me. It's not only gone, but so is the hillside it was resting on. Mud, trees, rocks and even a telephone pole couldn't withstand the mini-river of water rushing down my road. Unfortunately, there at the bottom of the hill was a home... a home now filled with 4' of mud and debris. A home so severely damaged by the landslide, that it is uninhabitable. So sad. Subsequent storms continued their assault on the home. And on Saturday morning, I woke up to discover one of our oak trees down in our yard.
At first, this just seemed to be one more problem to deal with without my husband. But on further examination, I realized this is not so bad. First of all, the top of the tree was taken out by another storm several years ago, which killed the tree. So, we had the issue of a dead oak in our yard that would be costly to remove. Recently, we were actually talking about the need to have someone come take it down. Problem solved. It's down. Secondly, and amazingly (thank you, God), the tree didn't hit anything other than some bushes and a small pine tree. It stopped 3' to 4' away from a neighbor's wall. The only one affected by all of this, really, is the poor displaced raccoon that lived in the tree and wandered around the yard on Saturday morning with a stunned, and sad, look on its face. I watched it make a slow climb high into the branches of another oak. I'm guessing it will be fine.
Now, we just have to get rid of the dead tree that is sprawled across the lawn, and I'm leaving that for my retired husband to deal with when he returns. After all, he has lots of time on his hands.
Being alone... something I craved, I needed, and I was looking forward to. I didn't count on these, and other, problems to dominate my time and emotional energy. By Saturday night, I was starting to enjoy the quiet and time to myself. That's when I decided I needed Sunday as a day of recharging. I made coffee and turned on praise music in the morning. It was a good start to a good day. Then I tackled the mess in a spare bedroom that has become a dumping ground. Surely some of you can identify. Hours and hours later, I have more of a mess than I bargained for. Piles of stuff sorted according to consignment, Goodwill, garage sale and basement. Today, in between trying to get actual work done, I'll be neatening up things and preparing for my husband's return home tomorrow. I could use a few more days, but am making the best of the time I have.
Thanks for bearing with me during my brief hiatus last week. Hoping to be back on track now with the blog and looking forward to spending next Sunday with both my church family, and my nuclear one.
Sharing my Sabbath experience,
Hana
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