We’ve all heard this saying. Perhaps, if you’re like me, you may have said it recently. Sometimes, it seems like bad things happen in bunches. And, sometimes, it literally means a lot of rain.
Lately, we have had a lot of rain in East Tennessee. A lot. As a result, we discovered a leak in our roof. We discovered that our gutters were lacking, and the downspout extensions were not pushing water far enough away from our house. So, within a few weeks, we had a leak and water in our basement, too.
Now, I’m like Clark Griswold than I am handy, but fortunately, my wife is not. After many years of debating the need for one, we finally purchased a ladder that will serve our needs. Sure, we had a 6-footer, but when my wife tried to get on the roof from that one, she was hesitant. She, too, agreed we actually needed a ladder. Thankfully, we were able to purchase one rather quickly and for a discount (thanks to a coupon that I just happened to print). She had the stuff for the job mostly. So being a better gopher than a handy person, I gophered a lot that day. She sealed some of the roof. She replaced a few shingles that looked bad, too. She was able to see the gutters were thankfully clear for the most part. While up on the roof, we saw that the water really had no place to go. We live in an old house. I don’t know if you know this or not, but water doesn’t travel uphill. Not at our house, anyway. So, after she repaired some things on the roof, we decided to add a downspout to a corner that really needed one.
After a short trip to the store (we live close to most anything these days—it’s not like it was in Montana; those took planning and TIME), we had what we needed. Back up on the roof she went, and I gophered some more. A short time later, we had a downspout. And while water can’t travel uphill, it sure can travel down that downspout without issue.
Sounds great, right?
Basically, yes, it is. Until the rain happened, again.
Yesterday, it rained HARDER than it had previously. As a result, the water was pooling where our basement door is located. That mean we had some water in the basement. The adjustments we made worked, but nature often shows us the way it wants to work. The gutter extensions that were on the house since we bought it work. They had created a pathway that led the water to beside our basement. The downspout extension we added was not extended far enough, so it contributed to the water in front of the basement door.
After the “deluge,” I realized we need four additional extensions. Again, we live close to home improvement stores, so my oldest and I went for yet another trip to get some additional extensions. In the rain, I attached them only to realize I attached them incorrectly. The new addition had been attached incorrectly as well, which is probably why it contributed so well to the water in front of the basement. The water continued, and I had to eat something; otherwise, I’m not good for much of anything. I saw my mistakes and went back in the rain to fix what I had done. I made some corrections and saw water coming from them.
Now, I won’t know for sure how well this works. I’m still thinking at least one drain needs another extension. But, there is good news in all of this: My wife’s repairs for the roof held up! The things we did to help move the water worked. The roof, even in all of that rain, did not drip a drop.
It has been a trying few weeks in our household anyway. Sad to say, but lots of time for me, I spiral. I “swim to the bottom” as my wife says. I get frustrated when things don’t go as I expect them to go. Expectations—more on this later.
Let me explain. My little car needed big help. I had an appointment and thought I’d get my car taken care after that. Turns out, the mechanic could not pinpoint what was going on exactly and suggested I take my car to the dealer. They were fair on what they charged me and fair in their recommendation. I got in my car and realized immediately that the brakes were “different.” By that I mean, I had to really press them to get them to work at all. I had an issue months ago in which I noticed they didn’t work as expected (see the word?). I slowed to a stop or attempted to, yet my brakes allowed the car to roll a bit. On level ground, this is one thing. On a steep hill, it’s something else. It was sketchy, but it had been raining. I know stuff happens sometimes.
I kept going.
Flashback: Mid-December, my little car started a series of events that were stressful. It began running terribly. I didn’t notice it while driving. The car still got exceptional gas mileage mostly. Yet, when I stopped, it idled rough. It didn’t do this all the time, but it did it intermittently. Intermittently in behavioral reinforcers is powerful; in cars, it’s maddening…for me.
As things work, the day I had my appointment, my car actually died while idling. Keep in mind, I had an appointment at the mechanic to have this seen about already. So, my doctor’s visit went pretty well. I was down below 200 pounds for the first time officially in many years. My other numbers came back pretty solid, too, which felt great. I have been doing some small things, making small changes. It was nice to see the reward so to say.
At the mechanic, I have a knack for mentally tallying the costs; they were fair to me, however, and kept my costs down.
As I said, I kept going. I first asked my wife to call and see if I would be able to be seen that day. By then, it was approaching 1 in the afternoon. She gave me a name and I started even though my brakes weren’t acting as expected (word again).
Normally, we press the brakes, and the car slows to a stop. This time, however, I pressed the brakes, and it felt like putting my fist on a hard surface. There was no give in the pedal. I had about a 20 minute plus drive to get to the dealer (car, not drug).
My car is a clutch. It’s already having issues idling, staying alive (Bee Gees—you singing?). Now, I can’t stop when I expect (note). This, my friends, I call the pucker factor.
Thanks to God, I am able to keep my car running, allow enough space between other vehicles and me to stop (virtually by standing on the brakes), and I make it to the dealer (car, not drug).
I’m shaken! Like, really shaking. It was intense. I didn’t know where to go. My goal was to park and turn my car over to someone else. Well, a well-dressed gentleman (have you been to a car dealer lately?) informs me I need to drive around the side and see the service center.
Not what I wanted to hear. But, I do it anyway, shaky feelings and all.
I explain to the person my wife told me to see that I was a bit shaken, that it was intense driving over there. I provide a copy of the codes that mechanic had identified as well as apologize for being a bit shaky. The guy is nice enough. I am told where the waiting area is, and I wait, which is what I did the better part of my day.
I was able to charge my phone. I was able to drink some complimentary water. I was able to wait.
Finally, the gentleman returns and tells me what the damage is. When I hear it, I ask for clarification because I literally know very little about cars if that one issue could be triggering all the codes I’ve been experiencing. Seriously, I was in doubt, but I intended to trust the process. He assured me that it’s possible. I was given a rental to drive while they did the work, which was really nice. Eventually, we got a call. The voicemail did not include the words, “Your car is ready.” My wife and I tag-teamed it. Work was super busy at the start of the semester, and my wife was able to call and speak with him. She learned that the costs are going to be much worse than we expected (word). I speak to the guy and ask if I can make payments. Keep in mind: We were told a reasonable number and then a very unexpected (word) number. The worst part about all of it is we didn’t realize the two numbers were added together, leaving us a much unexpected (word) new number. This was all as I was driving, mere minutes away from home.
Well, he says he will do some checking and I could pick my car up the next day. He and my wife speak again, and of course, they do not accept payments. My wife finds out when they open, and I go to get my car the next day at 7 AM. I usually leave my house at 6:30 anyway, so this isn’t unreasonable. I inform work I may be late due to the situation.
I see the guy walk in around 7, and I follow shortly after. I explain to him we were told 3 different numbers; the only one that was clear was the first one. He says he did what he could to lower my costs, and I tell him for the future, he needs to be clear for his customers. I begrudgingly pay the huge fee and make it to work only 15 minutes late.
Let’s look at these situations.
My expectations weren’t in line with what happened. I’m trying to do the following when things don’t quite go my way.
- Pray about the situation. Don’t expect the situation to change; you may be the one that changes.
- When faced with a situation that you don’t like, check your expectations. What did you expect or want to happen instead?
- What actually happened?
- What are you going to do about it?
As God would have it, we had spent some time talking about these kinds of things in church recently. We talked about wanting to go around the problem rather than through it. We want God to miraculously move things around for us when His plan is probably to draw us closer by having us experience trials, tribulations, and just downright frustrating situations sometimes.
I’m working hard this year not to spiral, not to fall into doom and gloom. I’m working harder to look for solutions. I’m working to be grateful for being able to pay for things like downspout extensions or car repairs. As little or big as these things are, they’re still no match for God. Even though we may feel alone or it may hard to see a way out of a difficult situation or we may not have things go as we expect (word) them to go, God is with us. We can never do enough (works); as our pastor said today, “Religion makes us busy for Jesus. . . . Religion tells us to go and change. The Gospel changes us on the spot.”
It’s not about us or our expectations. It’s about Jesus. He is with you and me when we face garbage circumstances, and folks, my garbage is small compared to many. He will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:6). He is there with us not only meeting our expectations (word), but also exceeding them. That rain may be watering something inside of you that needs to grow.
#expectations #life #God #Jesus #Christ #DrawNear #ClingToChrist #NotReligion
dr. jason newcomb 
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