Peter said, “Change your life. Turn to God and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven. Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is targeted to you and your children, but also to all who are far away—whomever, in fact, our Master God invites.” Acts 2:38 (The Message)
I’ve been a little out of touch and a lot out of my mind. Because the upstairs carpets must come up for the termite treatment, we moved forward on our plans to paint that area while we didn’t have to worry about splatters and drips. While I am happy to be getting all the things done in our house that I have wanted to do for many years, it is frustrating to complete it all in relatively short notice. Nothing is easy. We removed the handrail on the stairs and realized that the holes in the wall (from boys swinging on it) are so large that the wall has to be patched. Taking the air conditioning vents down, we discovered black soot on the inside. After my meltdown thinking it was black mold, youngest son confessed to a time when his brother almost set the house on fire by throwing a hat on top of a bare light bulb. Thank God I didn’t know until now. On Saturday, I got up at 6:00 to paint, completing two and a half closets before attending a photography class that I signed up for before I knew all this upheaval was going to happen. Other than three hours away from home for the class (which I couldn’t enjoy because I was making lists of everything I needed to do) and a trip to the hardware store for more primer, I did not leave the house at all this weekend. In fact, I realized that I didn’t even brush my hair from Saturday morning until I left for work this morning. What a mess! In the house and on my head! We worked fourteen hours each day, but other than putting a final coat of paint on oldest son’s room which we cannot do until after the treatment and the upstairs bathroom which will take a bigger restoration than we can do right now, our house is being transformed. New paint, empty closets, clean baseboards, bare floors. Maybe we should put the place on the market before we junk it up again. None of this work has been good for my neck and shoulders which suffered injuries from a fall off my horse eight years ago. After physical therapy last year, I have been living pain free, but no more. Yesterday, I felt the numbness moving down my arm to my hand which froze into a twisted position. My first thought was that my neck had finally given way, and I was paralyzed. I was relieved to discover it was only a cramp, but it will take months for me to recover from this work. Similar things happen when we try to eliminate old habits. We can be transformed if we don’t give up from the pain. In life, like in home repairs, it is often better to reform one area at a time. Don’t give up even if the change is hard or takes time. It will be worth it in the end!
It's so hard to tackle something like that on short notice!!! Though I confess, my house might be further along now if I DID have to do it that way. As it is, I still have stacks of flooring in my garage, cans of paint that need to go up and light fixtures piling up when they should be PUT up! I also have all the fixtures to install in my son's bathroom, but no time to actually do it. I'm hoping that I can do a lot over the Christmas break… Having a chunk of time to work on it would help a lot!
I hope your aches and pains wear away again. I always hurt after a big project like that, but it doesn't last. And the results are usually worth it.
Oh my, nothing about taking care of a house is easy, is it. I do sympathize with you and your neck and shoulder pain. I hope it is better soon.
Thanks for praying for Ella. With prayer and prednisone, she seems as good as new.
My word verification is "coniving."