I am posting this again, to share with a new audience (Original post was Oct. 16, 2008 via my notes on FB)
Rescue From Tangles
I had an "aha!" moment first thing this morning. It really made me think.
Early this morning, I hooked the dog out on her tie out so she could go potty. I was so sleepy, I decided to go back in the house, and wait for her to bark to be let back in. Well, she just sat by the door, and wouldn't go so, I went back outside, and then she began doing her normal routine, and started sniffing around, and smelling everything. I guess she just wanted an audience. Well, as I was slowly waking up, thanks in part to the brisk cool air, I am watching her weave in and out of the kids toys laying on the patio. So, I encouraged her to get away from there, and moved the toys that she was getting tangled in out of her way. Then she immediately goes and wraps herself up around something else, so I moved that out of her way too. I am talking to her, telling her how silly she is, and that she just needs to "go", so I can wake up properly with a mug of coffee in my hand (as if she could understand).
Well, after wrapping herself around everything possible I began to get annoyed..."why are you so stupid dog?". Ugh! I mean really? I just moved everything our of her way, and yet she keeps finding more things to get tangled in. I just sat back and looked at her, looking at me, and now barking for me to come rescue her.
You see, a few months ago she had a shorter tie out that broke, so hubby replaced it with this one that is like 4 times as long. It was rare for her to get tangled before, because she couldn't reach many things. But now, she can reach EVERYTHING, and manages to walk proudly to everything in reach, and get herself tangled around it. We went from a 10ft lead attached to the clothes line, to a 40ft lead. So yeah, it is way too long!
Well, all this made me think. This is like so many other relationships. It is like a parent and child. You give your child room to grow, and make choices, and then get irritated when they don't make the choice you think they should make...then they get tangled, and call out for you to rescue them. But it really made me think of my relationship with GOD. HE gives me free will to make my own choices, and stands by and watches my successes, and failures. HE is there for me when I need to be untangled, and lovingly guides me in the direction I need to go. Now, if I choose to continue to wrap myself around the wrong things over and over again, does HE get annoyed like I did? Does HE shake his head, wondering when I am going to learn? Does he wonder if HE should shorten the leash? I get tangled and I cry out to HIM...and HE rescues me.
It was just a picture book moment, where I thought hmmm...if I am this annoyed for one morning, how must GOD feel when we repeat the same choices over and over again through out our lives? We decide to lengthen our leash from GOD, feeling that we can handle things, then when we get all wrapped up, we cry out for HIM to take care of us...and sometimes even blame HIM for our mistakes..like, "why did you leave me alone? whey did you let me go so far?". Well, I am hoping that my dog will learn from her mistakes, and maybe I will be shortening her lead. I hope we can all learn to be gently guided, and have an minimal amount of tangles along the way.
Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Summer.... (Alas! A foundation!)
"All we have worked for, all we have prayed for, all we have endured as a family, and as individuals, all rests on stilts 15+ feet in the air! "
It wasn't long and the foundation company was here to put up forms. It was another exciting day. As the kids and I spent the day in and around the pool, we watched the workers use a crane to move the concrete forms from the trailer into place around the perimeter of the house. Then they carried them sheet by sheet and put them in place, hammering them together. It was a noisy day, but I am not sure what was louder, the workers or the kids playing in the pool.
Our days seemed all the same, for the most part. Hubby would get up early and head off to work, then the rest of us in the "camp" would wake up. The girls and I in the fifth-wheel, and the boys and dog in the pop-up camper. We would all come together in the fifth-wheel to have breakfast, then in turn we would use our tent as the changing room and get dressed for the day. We can't forget the line for the outhouse either..that was a daily routine too. For meals other than breakfast, we normally ate outside at the picnic tables. After a few days of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, we decided to invest in a screen tent!!
I think we all enjoyed the laid back lifestyle we had, but there were days when we talked about how much we would appreciate our "normal" life, once this journey came to an end. The heat of the days would have been almost unbearable if we had to stay in the campers. We were constantly reminded by the splash of the pool, of how blessed we were.
On special days, we would have company over. Most times I would have my mom come and bring my niece and nephew with her to swim and picnic. The kids LOVED it, and mom and I enjoyed our time too.
After the forms were set, it was a day or so, and the concrete trucks were here. They pumped the concrete down long chutes and into the forms. After a few minutes, most of the kids got bored watching, and went on, continuing to play and enjoy the freedom that outdoor living allows. I loved calling hubby at work and telling him of all the things I saw, and the progress that was being made. I had really wished he could be poolside with me, watching it all unfold, but alas, as he would jokingly remind me, "someone has to work to afford this lavish lifestyle of ours,like, cold showers, endless meals cooked on the grill, and not to forget the all important outhouse". We all often joked about what we were "going through", but we were very careful to make sure we remembered how truly blessed we were to be experiencing this. Ah, the stories we will be able to tell for year and years to come. There will be generations of people that will hear of the craziness, and wonder, that this family has had the benefit to endure.
Once the forms were filled, all the concrete was poured, everything had to sit for a day or two before the forms could be stripped off. We had prayed for warm dry days, so everything would set nicely. Our prayers went unanswered, as the clouds rolled in and the ground cried out in thirst. It rained, and rained. The workers returned to strip the forms, and slip and slide in the slimy mud. What a job. I watched, as one guy tried to move about, and his boots were just covered in clay. They must have weighed a ton, but he just kept chugging along, as if he had a child clinging onto his leg, swinging it about, as he tried to maneuver in the trenches. After all the forms were stripped, we now had to wait for the concrete to cure. We were told that it would be 7-10 days before the house could be set back down. In the meantime, we needed to have the foundation inspected.
This was our first inspection, and our first "green" sticker!!! We were so excited! For those who aren't familiar with the process, it can be quite intimidating! I mean after all, what happens if they don't approve it, and you get an orange sticker, and then what???? Well, I don't want to find out! We did our little happy dance, and then I took a pic of the green tag with my phone, and sent it to hubby at work so he could share in our joy!
It wasn't long and the foundation company was here to put up forms. It was another exciting day. As the kids and I spent the day in and around the pool, we watched the workers use a crane to move the concrete forms from the trailer into place around the perimeter of the house. Then they carried them sheet by sheet and put them in place, hammering them together. It was a noisy day, but I am not sure what was louder, the workers or the kids playing in the pool.
Our days seemed all the same, for the most part. Hubby would get up early and head off to work, then the rest of us in the "camp" would wake up. The girls and I in the fifth-wheel, and the boys and dog in the pop-up camper. We would all come together in the fifth-wheel to have breakfast, then in turn we would use our tent as the changing room and get dressed for the day. We can't forget the line for the outhouse either..that was a daily routine too. For meals other than breakfast, we normally ate outside at the picnic tables. After a few days of getting eaten alive by mosquitoes, we decided to invest in a screen tent!!
I think we all enjoyed the laid back lifestyle we had, but there were days when we talked about how much we would appreciate our "normal" life, once this journey came to an end. The heat of the days would have been almost unbearable if we had to stay in the campers. We were constantly reminded by the splash of the pool, of how blessed we were.
On special days, we would have company over. Most times I would have my mom come and bring my niece and nephew with her to swim and picnic. The kids LOVED it, and mom and I enjoyed our time too.
After the forms were set, it was a day or so, and the concrete trucks were here. They pumped the concrete down long chutes and into the forms. After a few minutes, most of the kids got bored watching, and went on, continuing to play and enjoy the freedom that outdoor living allows. I loved calling hubby at work and telling him of all the things I saw, and the progress that was being made. I had really wished he could be poolside with me, watching it all unfold, but alas, as he would jokingly remind me, "someone has to work to afford this lavish lifestyle of ours,like, cold showers, endless meals cooked on the grill, and not to forget the all important outhouse". We all often joked about what we were "going through", but we were very careful to make sure we remembered how truly blessed we were to be experiencing this. Ah, the stories we will be able to tell for year and years to come. There will be generations of people that will hear of the craziness, and wonder, that this family has had the benefit to endure.
Once the forms were filled, all the concrete was poured, everything had to sit for a day or two before the forms could be stripped off. We had prayed for warm dry days, so everything would set nicely. Our prayers went unanswered, as the clouds rolled in and the ground cried out in thirst. It rained, and rained. The workers returned to strip the forms, and slip and slide in the slimy mud. What a job. I watched, as one guy tried to move about, and his boots were just covered in clay. They must have weighed a ton, but he just kept chugging along, as if he had a child clinging onto his leg, swinging it about, as he tried to maneuver in the trenches. After all the forms were stripped, we now had to wait for the concrete to cure. We were told that it would be 7-10 days before the house could be set back down. In the meantime, we needed to have the foundation inspected.
This was our first inspection, and our first "green" sticker!!! We were so excited! For those who aren't familiar with the process, it can be quite intimidating! I mean after all, what happens if they don't approve it, and you get an orange sticker, and then what???? Well, I don't want to find out! We did our little happy dance, and then I took a pic of the green tag with my phone, and sent it to hubby at work so he could share in our joy!
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