The Only Way

Hey Everyone,

Well, it was quite the weekend: 12 inches of rain in a 48 hour period can mess up a lot of people’s lives. At our house, which is a very, very fine house, with two cats in the yard life used to be so hard… sorry I started channeling Crosby, Still, Nash and maybe Young. Anyway, at our house we had a retaining wall collapse in the basement and in the process it pushed our HVAC unit over about three feet. I guess that happened Saturday sometime and then Sunday night sometime we had a four by eight section of ceiling fall to the floor.

While they both sound dramatic they were, in fact, stealth attacks. They must have happened slowly with gravity doing what gravity does when things fall. I say that because I was home almost the entire weekend and I never heard either of the things happen.

I just spent the last hour and a half moving concrete blocks and shoveling mud in the process of beginning to clean up. I was able to put the furnace back in place and the Evaporator coil back on top of it with some effort and a lot of shoveling. My AC guy just told me that I didn’t lose any Freon so a little duct tape in a couple spots and I’m good to go.

The ceiling is another matter. It is only a symptom of another problem. I have a leak in my roof, somewhere. This, after I spent last summer putting new asphalt rolls on that section of my house. I got the other 5 leaks taken care of but somehow I created a new one. The truth is it’s time for a whole new roof.

I talk a lot about taking dominion and also about beginning that process on the local level. While I talk the talk, my house is telling me I’m not walking the walk. I can’t even take dominion over my own house. I’ll go so far as to say most of the time : I don’t even try.

Now, in my own defense, I’m pretty busy and until recently I’ve been financially strapped to say the least. In fact, on Friday before the rain hit I paid off the last of my debt from my house flipping partnership that left me, well, let’s just say, in the hole deeper that I would have liked. It has taken me 5 years to dig my way out, and I was looking forward to using the freed up cash to pay on some other debts; and then the rain came.

This morning the roof/ceiling, wall/hvac problems were the only rain related difficulties in my life, but then toward the end of the day I realized that Opryland Hotel had 9 feet of water in it’s lobby. Now, I knew things were bad –my wife was transported from work to a local high school along with all the other employees and guest sometime last night. She finally made it home about 4:30 this morning. But on my way home from work today it hit me that my wife has been effectively laid off from work. It’s kind of hard to be a concierge standing in 9 feet of water with no guests staying at the hotel. They say it will be three to four months before they reopen, but the river hasn’t crested yet, so we’ll see.

In 48 hours my life has really been turned upside down. But, the truth is, as bad as it is, there are many, many people who have it a lot worse. I have a friend/acquaintance from the church I work at during the week, I just worked his son’s wedding last weekend, and anyway, sometime around noon today, they came to pull his family to safety in a boat. His house, his vehicles everything except hsi family, was underwater. I’ve heard of family after family in similar situations. At least 12 people have died, three or four blocks of down town are flooded.

So, I’ve got it pretty good. Thankfully, God is in control and not chance. There is a purpose because there is a plan. I don’t always like that, and I can rarely figure out what the plan is, but I am learning to find comfort even in things I don’t like and can't understand.

The events of the last few days haven’t left me in despair. If anything, they have strengthened my resolve, and shown me a sinful attitude in my own heart. My actions aren’t matching my words when it comes to taking dominion over creation, yes, my house is a part of creation and as I write this it occurs to me that my body is also a part of creation that needs a little dominion taken over it as well.

Would someone please schedule me a lobotomy I’m thinking way too much.

The truth is its time to begin a new change, it's time for some repentance.

I happened upon some new Ellis Paul songs this week and one called 'the only way' struck a huge chord with me today. Here are some of the lyrics.

I read the paper I watch the news It seems there's only pain and sufferin' And there ain't much I can do It's so senseless I feel defenseless So small

I could shut my windows Bolt my doors But if I don't feel safe enough To speak my mind anymore Then what's the use I've nothing left to lose And no farther to fall

So I'm gonna love, I'm gonna believe I'm still gonna dream But I'm gonna roll up my sleeves and give everything until I've nothing left to give That's the only way that I know how to live



There’s a time to laugh and a time to cry and a time to roll up your sleeves and get to work. I think it’s time for me to get rolling.

Grace and Peace,
Brad