September 25th, Tuesday – God is Good All the Time

God is Good All the Time.  That’ what the sign over our refrigerator says and how true it is.  The events of this past week and a half definitely prove it.

It started with Hurricane Florence.  Bearing down on the Carolina’s and mom being mom she was not going anywhere.  She was going to stay in her home and ride it out.  At the last minute she was persuaded to stay with a neighbor who had a home on higher ground.  Had she not gone, given what happened to her bedroom and her house she may not be with us today.  God is good All the Time.

The storm ripped through her house, water, water everywhere.  The bedroom ceiling came down.  It was trashed.  And according to mom she did not have flood insurance.  Barbara was in charge of taking care of insurance and FEMA and guess what she found out?  She had not cancelled her flood insurance last November.  It was in effect.  God is good All the Time.

So the troops gathered in New Bern.  The place literally looked like a war zone.  Thinking at first that there was no insurance they went to work.  Adam and Allison came from West Virginia.  Cindy and Charlie from Pennsylvania.  Barbara and I from Tennessee.  The same neighbor who sheltered mom during the storm allowed mom, my sister and her husband to stay at her home.  God is good All the Time.

Barbara and I needed to find a hotel room each night.  In an area that had no openings, no rooms until the middle of October.  Yet, each night we managed to find a place to stay.  God is good All the Time.

It was obvious that mom was not going to be living here anymore.  At least not for the foreseeable future.  Maybe not ever.  On going discussions began.  Even before the week was out the word came down There was an apartment waiting for her in Wellsboro, just two miles from my sisters house.  If she wanted it.  God is good All the Time.

The insurance adjuster came out.  Mom was going to be in good shape.  She even received an advance on her claim.  God is good All the Time.

During the week I wrenched my back and that was that for me.  I could not move.  Nor sit for longer than 10 minutes.  And we had a ten-hour ride back to Tennessee.  But we found a chiropractor that was willing to work with me.  He got me to the point that I could at least make the trip home.  God is good All the Time.

Once my sister got back home she and mom went to look at the apartment.  It is small and cozy, but has all the major appliances, and is only two miles from my sister’s house. Better yet mom likes it.  The rent has been discounted so she can afford it.  God is good All the Time.

Once we got back home my back went nuts again.  But even before we had left New Bern the chiropractor there had reached out to another in Knoxville who was willing to continue my treatments.  I’m on the mend.  Then we discovered that they would accept Barbara’s insurance and so she too could be treated for her twisted back.  God is good All the Time.

Then there was Marti. He had been in a kennel all week.  We picked him up and it was obvious we had a major problem.  He kept hacking, and his breathing was heavy and labored.  Would he make it through the night?  What was wrong?  Turned out he had kennel cough and it would run its course – as it has.  But the first couple of days had us worried.  Now, he’s back to being a noisy little white bundle of energy. God is good All the Time.

The best thing of course is and remains, Barb and I continue to travel together down the road of retirement, hand in hand, singing our song.  Without her support I honestly don’t know where I would be.  She has been my rock.  God is good All the Time.

So we are moving on.  Taking it one day at a time.  Making the most of what God continues to bless us with.  It’s not always easy, but it is always rewarding.  Yes,

As always,  if you are coming to the end of your day with concerns and worries, let me suggest that you turn them over to God.  After all, He is going to be up all night so why not let him handle them for you.

Time now for our evening prayers and eventually some shut-eye.  Till tomorrow.

These are the voyages of  Graybeard and it’s occupants, four paws and two humans.  Our continuing mission: to explore as many new states as possible, to seek out new acquaintances and make new friends, to boldly go where we have not been before