Grateful.

Well, this Dia-versary turned out to be one I doubt I’ll forget any time soon. I spent the day with friends at Vanderbilt checking out the Eskind Diabetes Center (more to come on that later). On our way home from Nashville, I received a call informing me that my apartment had flooded. Everything after that is sort of a blur, but I remember asking if my dogs were OK and I was assured they were fine. The rest of my frantic questions were all met with “it’s really bad.”

I didn’t cry, which is surprising because I cry at everything. I wasn’t angry or upset. I was definitely anxious, but mostly because I wasn’t there, and I wouldn’t be for at least another hour. “It’s really bad” can mean a plethora of things. Apparently, something involving the ice machine/water heater/pipe (I’m still very unclear) in the apartment above mine caused a massive leak/downpour. Being the apartment directly beneath the one with the issue, my apartment suffered the most damage of the four affected units.

Walking into the apartment, I had no idea what to expect. As it turns out, it was “really bad,” but not so much for me. The apartment itself suffered lots of damage (see photos), but my belongings were mostly unharmed. I will probably have to replace my dining room chairs, but I didn’t really like them anyway. My couch was wet, but not soaked, and my apartment complex is paying to have it cleaned. My ceilings will need repairing, and the carpet will need replacing as will the fixtures. There are minor cabinet issues, and the walls will also need repainting. But all of that falls on the apartment complex, not on me.

Everything is completely upside down and my belongings are strewn about my apartment in complete disarray, but I don’t really mind. Which again, is surprising for me. I’ve always been a worrier and I tend to stress out easily. But here’s the way I see it:

I am fine, and my dogs are fine. Nothing else matters. It wasn’t a fire, and things can be replaced. The water didn’t reach my more expensive furniture and my bed and couch both sit off the ground and did not need replacing. My art and photos were unharmed, and everything damaged was small and mostly insignificant. The flooding was no one’s fault. Things happen. Life happens.

I’m grateful for my safety and the safety of my girls. (Although bless their hearts — they were a nervous wreck when I arrived home. Poor things.) I’m grateful for insurance. I’m grateful my apartment is putting me up in a corporate suite while the repairs are made. I’m grateful I took my computer with me to Nashville (it would’ve been ruined based on where it was sitting that morning). I’m grateful for friends who dropped what they were doing to help me move things to the corporate suite. I’m grateful for extremely kind and pleasant maintenance staff. (Seriously, super nice guys.) I’m grateful for my D-mom friend who thought quickly enough to send me home with a pizza, juice boxes and snacks. (Which came in handy when my blood sugar dropped to 39 in the middle of the night). I’m grateful my D-supplies, specifically test strips, weren’t ruined. I’m grateful my mother’s bible wasn’t damaged (as it should have been based on where it was sitting in my apartment.)

I’m grateful for so many things right now. Seriously, God is so amazing. When I heard the words “it’s really bad,” all I could think of was my friend in Nashville whose entire home had three feet of standing water after the flood in 2010. That, was “really bad,” not this. My apartment was nothing remotely comparable to what my friend went through. I am definitely inconvenienced, but so what? Life happens, and most of life is out of our control.

By the end of the day, I was drained emotionally. I didn’t have the mental capacity for a bible study, so I sat and wrote out scriptures that have influenced me during the last few months. I just wrote them in my scripture journal, and then I rewrote them, gaining strength with each verse. I sat there looking at my dogs curled up at my feet and praised God for this blessing. I had such a peace, and it’s truly the craziest thing knowing my personality regarding upheaval. I am OK. Completely OK.

Thank you Jesus for your mercy and your blessings in my life. May I always have this much faith in unforeseen circumstances and when things don’t go according to my plan. It is my hope that I seek your will for my life and that I realize my desires should only be your desires. Thank you for teaching me to appreciate the things I have. Worldly things — possessions, cars, furniture — none of it matters. And if only through a nudge of this minor problem, I have seen your glory, grace and mercy. You are an awesome God. Thank you.

Update: I stopped by my apartment to grab a blouse for work Friday morning. I wish I hadn’t done that. My apartment looks like a construction zone, but with all of my belongings in the middle of it. There is sheetrock and plaster everywhere. I’ve felt the emotional side of this today (that’s what I forget for mentioning I hadn’t cried about this yet. One day, I’ll learn.) I’m still incredibly grateful, but that doesn’t mean it’s easy. Oddly enough, I’ve been reading through Job, and in my study notes, it talked about emotions. Even though we have faith and trust that God is in control, it’s perfectly fine and acceptable to have emotions regarding distress, sadness and loss. This is not a big deal, but factored with being misplaced, living between two apartments and three work deadlines, it has felt overwhelming today.