BLESSINGS OF A NEW YEAR
I am thinking about 2022. The year didn't go fully as planned. It did, however, go exactly how God planned. He reminded my just yesterday something of significance He did for us in 2022. I will not share the details because it's not the point, but I will share with a simple statement that the faithfulness of God Almighty has been a dynamic reality this past year.
We left 2021 with our roofing company which replaced our leaky roof with a brand new one but causing the living room ceiling to collapse in front of us. God's faithful hand of protection and care kept that ceiling from coming completely down until just a day or two from when the repair team showed up to fix the ceiling. The crew of three dwindled later that day to a 60 year old man working by himself to shore up the existing woodwork that was totally weakened and damaged over the years prior to our purchase 6 months earlier. the roof was replaced in one day in mid-October. The ceiling workers didn't show up until after Thanksgiving. The ceiling held but finally gave way. The crew of three cleaned up the mess and carried out debris but left the hard repair work to the older guy. Alone, he worked day in and day out while Kathy watched him take apart the old wood and replace it with new. He was slow but meticulous in his repair work. As it came closer to Christmas he finally made enough shoring up progress to begin putting up new sheetrock. Of course to do all this he had to move some furniture, cover the wood flooring and put some coverings on things he couldn't move. It was apparent that he would no way finish our ceiling for the Christmas tree to be put up even a day before Christmas. Here we are in our new-to-us house and our first Christmas there would mean the tree we purchased in Phoenix in 2017 would remain in its box after sitting since it was packed and finally retrieved from the U-Box it was stored in for 3 years. my dear wife couldn't stand the thought of no tree so she found a small basket and put in pine cones with greenery and a small set of Christmas lights she found and that was our tree. So 2022 began with the ceiling finally being completed and it was worth the wait. Bill did an awesome job which still amazes me to this day.
The weather turned by the fall of 2021 and when we tried to use the heater combined in our central AC system it just didn't work. The AC unit was replaced with a new one and the heater worked well. Again that took us into 2022. But that wasn't all ... we were awoken in June of 2022 to the sound of gushing water. It was still very early in the morning so it meant a trip outdoors to find the problem. The old main water pipe delivering water to the home was very rusted and caused a complete failure spewing water everywhere. It was going for a while as the yard was getting flooded. I found the shut off valve but got absolutely soaked trying to turn it off. Thankfully, the first plumbing company we called was able to come at 8am that Saturday morning and replace the pipe but announcing a check of the full system showed the whole house needed replumbing. They did the work for a reasonable price and finished it mid afternoon that day.
2022 also had an issue with an electrical system which the electrician found almost immediately and left us back to electrically normal after ten minutes and a $90.+ bill!
Mike's knee had been bothering from an old work injury but deemed to be arthritis and age so he found a knee pain program we thought would help. Unfortunately we were denied into the program by my insurance company which turned out to be a disappointing Medicare Advantage company. We found another company with what we need and joined for the 2023 year. And Mike will try again to get help with the knee pain.
Still, God is faithful. We had a May visit with our eldest son who drove his new truck and camper from Denver with his girlfriend and puppy dog, George. It was a good time for all.
We also had a visit with friends from Wisconsin who were in our wedding 46 years ago. That too was a great time.
2022 also brought with it the same thing we've all been dealing with: higher prices at the gas pump, in the grocery store etc. But, we haven't lacked. It's been an amazing faithful God which kept us through this season of hardship.
We can praise Him for keeping us healthy during the time since 2020 and subsequent years as neither Kathy or I have had the Covid-19 illness. I have co-workers who have fought it a number of times.
The reminder God gave me yesterday of His faithfulness in 2022, as I said, no details were shared but led to this writing. We've seen His faithfulness in many ways. So Praise Him!
2023 ... Faithful God is in control. Love Him. Live for Him. Rest in Him. Amen!
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