HIGHS & LOWS......ALREADY?!? (Isaiah 58:11)

The three weeks we have been farm owners, has been overwhelming, yet exciting.   One of my

exciting moments was when Paul bought me a small chain saw!!  I have ask for one several times and all he would say is “No, you will cut your leg off!”🙄. Guess he thinks he may need a little help keeping everything trimmed up now.

Our goal right now is getting everything cleaned up...The grass was a little out of hand by the time we got it.  Paul and I love being out there working...kids not so much.  Although, they did find a few things to do.  The mowing was so much that we enlisted the kids to help.  They did pretty good for their first time mowing.  We do have a few things we need to work on next time, like staying in a pattern!!😂. We have another plan in mind to help with the mowing, but more on that later.

We have several established crepe myrtles, but they all look dead.  Matter of fact we have quite a few trees that look dead.  As we are driving around Tennessee, we began to noticed that all the crepe myrtles look dead and several trees still have no buds on them.  We are thinking now that some tree varieties must be late bloomers in Tennessee.  It’s just really odd to be in Alabama and see crepe myrtles with leaves and a hour and half up the road they are still dormant.

We didn’t go into this thinking it would be easy, but bad news can really put a damper on your mood!  We told ourselves from the beginning, we were not going to rush.  We planned to give ourselves four years to be completely done and permanently living in Tennessee.  We have someone that is currently working on reconfiguring the floor plan and we are excited about that.  We spoke with  a construction worker about giving us an estimate on repairing the foundation.  He got us soooooo excited.  He said not only could he could do the foundation, but he could do the whole remodeling job.  He said several times he would be the cheapest, and he could start very soon.  We thought, wow, we would be able to move in much sooner!!!  But he would never throw out a figure. He just kept saying he would be the cheapest.   So we thought it would be a good idea to talk to a builder.  That went south rather quickly.  This is one comment that the builder said to us during our conversation with him...and I quote....”ya’ll need to go home and watch the movie Money Pit and then talk about what you need to do.”  

This particular builder did throw out an astronomical amount that he thought it would take to restore the old house. Paul said the look of despair was all over my face.  We also called AFS (American Foundation Specialist).  Paul met AFS at the house and apparently this guy could out talk Paul!!  Paul said he had to leave so the guy would start working on the estimate.  After an hour or so AFS called Paul.  Paul’s first thought was Oh No!..what did he find?  AFS said, “Well, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be”. That was our short lived “HIGH“, then he proceeded to tell us his quote which was a jaw dropping amount....& then back  to our ”LOW”.  The house was built in 1935, so yes it needs some extensive repairs and updating, but still should not meet or exceed the cost of building new house.

Upstairs/attic/bathroom

During our time there, we have had several neighbors come by and talk to  us.  Everyone is so friendly and has a story to tell us about the old farm place or the people who lived there.  One man stopped by and told us he was 80 years old and that he ate many dinners in that house and worked in that old barn.  We told him we would love to hear more about the place and especially how the barn was used.  He told Paul, “One of these days we will get us a Pepsi Cola and walk down to that barn and I will tell you all about”💝😀

Joyce Meyer wrote in one of her articles:  In everything, there's a beginning, an end, and a middle. The beginning is sometimes a little bit exciting because it's a new thing. And the end is certainly exciting because it's where we experience the victory. But, oh…that middle! The Saturdays may be even harder than the Fridays because on Saturday, we're in the grave and we're not sure what's going to happen next.

Most of the time, we don't know how long the middle's going to last, and although God knows…He's not telling. (Isn't He great at keeping secrets?) So we need to remember that when we're going through the middle of something, we can be assured Sunday always comes after Friday. But we have to endure Saturday—we have to outlast the devil, remain steadfast and not give up or quit. When we do, we will enjoy the resurrection benefits and blessings that come on Sunday.  

God never promises life will be easy, but he does promise to go through it with us and to guide us along the way (Hebrews 13:5, Isaiah 58:11). Paul and I know God will be with us during this process, especially when we are in that “middle” period, frazzled, and at our breaking point.

 It could be a bunny rabbit that stops right in front of you and stares, it could be a neighbor coming over with his Pepsi Cola to tell us some stories about our barn, it could be pausing to watch our kids enjoy His creations, instead of being on their phone/Xbox/TV, it could be a husband that knows what to say to make you bust out laughing when your on the brink of tears, and it can even be as simple as an encouraging comment from someone.  God uses others to let’s us know, I’m here and I’m still making a way even though you can’t see it yet, take a deep breath and hang in there.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake. Deuteronomy  31:6