Don't Know Whatcha Got...

Warning: this story comes with more information than you may care to know.

We’ve recently completed an intense 10-day stretch of family togetherness, the longest ever for us. Using our son’s acreage 30 minutes down the road as “home base,” our daughter and her family stayed in our camper on her brother’s yard while Hubby and I made numerous trips back and forth—sometimes sleeping over, most often going home. God gave us great weather. The five grandsons enjoyed cousin time in a large yard with a big inflatable pool and trampoline, a dog, cats, chickens, guinea hens, frogs, and crickets. We enjoyed great food, a beach day, fireworks, board games, and campfires. My daughter and I celebrated a long-awaited girls’ night while the men had their own evening of grunting and scratching or whatever guys do.

But as you know, life happens.

Before our time together had even begun, my right knee started giving me grief, making it tough to use stairs. By day three, that leg and foot were so swollen I could barely wear a flip-flop, let alone shoes. At the clinic, a doctor ordered an ultrasound to rule out blood clots. Thankfully, none were revealed, but the pain and swelling forced me to sit around with my foot elevated and made it impossible to be as active as I’d have liked. It’s gradually improving.

Funny how we take for granted the ability to walk freely until it’s gone.

We were also adapting to our new-to-us car. When the air conditioning quit, it felt like a major inconvenience in the heat but was quickly downgraded to minor when we nearly lost a tire because some lug nuts had come loose. A wheel alignment and torquing caused another ripple—and major expense—in our busy week.

Funny how we take for granted wheels that stay on and a comfortable temperature in which to ride on them…until they’re gone.

Sure could've used one of these!

When the only toilet in our son’s house malfunctioned and we waited for repairs, we appreciated the bathroom in the camper. That is, until its holding tank filled the same day, rendering it useless until a pump-out could be arranged. This ol’ grandma was grateful to come home to her own house the night nine people stayed there with no toilet. My attempt to lighten the mood proved unsuccessful when I suggested that all we needed to make this a perfect storm was an outbreak of diarrhea. When I was a kid, country property would have included an outhouse even if no longer in use. One of those sure would’ve come in handy! With all the boys in the family, the great outdoors sufficed, but three days of our son’s life seemed dominated by that most unpleasant repair job.

Funny how we take for granted such a simple luxury as a toilet until we need one and it’s gone.

While these types of dilemmas feel enormously taxing and frustrating in the moment, they all become laughable memories before long. Considering how seldom real life-altering tragedies occur, in relation to how often they could, gives one cause to pause and be grateful. If we must go through struggles anyway—and it seems we do—why not learn, laugh, and love each other through them? Why not recognize all the good things we’ve got before they’re gone?

“We can rejoice when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance.” Romans 5:3.