A Flooded Basement

It's amazing how quickly plans can change in life. I had set aside a lot of time this week to write my dissertation, and Julie and the girls went over to Ohio so that I could have some clear time to think and research. This type of writing requires a lot of access to the books and articles I've accumulated throughout the course of the DMin program, so I settled down in my downstairs office where all of those resources are located so that I could focus and get some work done. I popped on my headphones, cracked open my laptop, leaned back in my work chair as I've done probably hundreds of times over the past three years, and just as I got started something caught my attention. A small wave of water on my basement floor was moving rapidly in my direction. Before I could even think to react, it had spilled over into my office and I had to scramble to pick things I was working on up off the floor. Apparently, a huge thunderstorm struck outside while I was working in the basement and the sewer system in my part of Homewood backed up so that all of the basements in my neighborhoos were flooded out by several inches of sewer water. As it happened, my heart broke because a small group from my church had spent hours and hours of time finishing my basement earlier this year. I watched helplessly as in an instant the entire basement carpet and trim that took months to install were destroyed. My heart broke, not so much for the stuff that was in our basement, but for the many kids in our neighborhood who spend so much time hanging out in our newly finished basement. It serves as a game room for kids in Homewood... a safe place for them to get out of the summer heat and spend time with their friends.

When the flooding started to receed, and I was done scrambling to get a few valuable things off the floor in the basement, I made my way upstairs and sat quietly looking down at the floor with my head in my hands contemplating the meaning of life. Why does stuff like this happen? Why does life have to be so hard? This was a huge, time consuming set back that would draw my focus away from my dissertation... at least for the short term while we deal with this. This setback would keep us from being able to help more kids in Homewood for the near future. Where all of those volunteer hours spent finishing the floors in our basement a waste of time? Then I just went quiet for a while, searching for answers in my head. And that's right where God met me and worked on healing my broken heart. God ministered to me in those moments, and slowly I started to release the things of this world and immerse myself in God's eternal purposes. I became relieved that God would take a situation that the enemy meant for evil, a strong blow to our work in Homewood, and turn it into a something positive that he will use to reach this world for his glory. I'm just not sure how that is going to happen, yet, but I know it is going to happen. Stuff is just stuff. I don't care at all about the stuff that we had accumulated that may have been flooded in our basement. Every single thing that I think I have actually belongs to God anyway. I'm just a steward of what God gives me to utilize for his purposes. The stuff can be replaced. I should not be asking myself "why" when something like this happens. Instead, I should be asking myself "what?" What does God want to do with these circumstances to achieve his purposes.

I know that God is in control. I trust him with everything... that's the only way to function with life in Homewood. As a follower of Jesus Christ, I should expect persecution from the enemy who hates my soul and wants to destroy me. However, God has overcome the enemy and I will one day experience the joy of victory over evil that I know is coming. In the mean time, I need to continue to be obedient in all things. I am hoping that my dissertation will help a lot of at risk youth around the world, and I'm not going to let this little basement set back keep me from writing it. I know that opening our home up to kids in Homewood is something that God has called us to do, and this little basement set back isn't going to keep us from fulfilling that calling. I know how this whole human drama works out... things will be hard, but God wins!