April 9, 2008 | Mama Smith

we thought it couldn't get any worse...

...after a weekend that began with Brighton vomiting down my back and all over our couch, Matthew being summoned home from work early, Levi catching a 104 fever that refused to budge for a full 24 hours, sitting in a freezing cold tub with him as Matthew doused water on the screaming child, Brighton vomiting yet again and again through the night…

Oh but it did.

The vomiting has not stopped. In fact, it’s been joined by its kind companion, diarrhea. Out of the almost 20 times Brighton has puked, only one of those instances made it into the toilet. Our new laundry unit has been working around the clock. As have these two crazed, and now sick ourselves, parents. The first time in our family’s history that we have all four been down at once. Five days alone together stuffed in our house is driving us all a little batty.

And right in the middle of this lovely attack, our buyers decide to back out of the contract. They didn’t approve of the inspection. The same inspection we had a mere 7 months ago that passed with flying colors. So the real reason why, we’ll never really know. But this annoying news came 3 weeks before our close date. Both on this home and our new one. And after we had turned away multiple people because the status of being “under contract”. Boxes were packed, furniture had been taken apart and piled in the guest room, plans had been made.

Yes, we are feeling a bit deflated in our snuffling, feverish state. Today we met with the realtor of the home we’re still hoping to purchase who is going to now list our house to get it sold ASAP. We signed papers, rearranged our partial packed house, put furniture back together that I had disassembled just last week, unpacked boxes that had been packed just days ago, and prepared our house yet again to be shown.

I’ve been wondering where Jesus is in all this.

The other evening after receiving the news on our home, I sat rocking my hot little potato, Levi, whose temp just wouldn’t drop, and rubbed his toasty back. He isn’t a snuggler, so I was relishing his weakened state that forced him to lay motionless on my chest with his fuzzy head buried in my neck. I felt tears fall down my cheeks as I thought about how exhausted I was, how much work was ahead with getting through this bout of sickness with these kids, with this house selling business and with another move after that.

Then I caught of whiff of Levi’s freshly washed hair. It made me stop rocking. Then smile. And remember that He IS here. I thought about the Spirit being in the embraces Matthew and I would offer each other in the midst of a hurried, stressful weekend. Being in the warmth of B’s tender head resting on my lap. Being in that wiff of Levi’s fuzzy head.

I want Him to show up by aligning all our circumstances to fit my plan, purpose and satisfaction. Which some times He may do. But living in a fallen world, more often than not, He shows up in the midst of the brokeness. Reminding me that regardless of how the pieces fall around me, He is worth following, trusting, and leaning on when life does just simply suck. In those moments, there’s nothing else worth resting in.

So we’re waiting, being loved on tremendously by our community (who is making us meals this entire week!! You people are crazy…and completely amazing!!), and watching to see how Christ is authoring this story.

To be continued…

The pictures are from a road trip we made to Jones Gap over the weekend, before we came down with any illness, but needed to get these cranky, sick kids out of the house. We had borrowed a friend’s car dvd player for a road trip we were going to make to Clemson pre-sickness. They were glued to it and QUIET the entire trip. It was luxurious. There go all our pre-children ideals about not letting them watch t.v.

We had fun roaming through the drizzly woods, discovering creatures, and being free from the confines of our sick house for a full 4 hours.