God works to get you through the hard times
"Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and fields produce no food ... Yet I will rejoice in the God of my salvation!"
-Habakkuk 3:17 (NIV)
I was just thinking how my time of hardship was ending, when yesterday I got out of bed to hear a loud noise: "pushu."
"Oh no, what's that!" I was hoping it wasn't my year-old furnace making a noise. And I didn't want more expenses.
When I called my sister she said, "When are you going to get a pause?"
A peek in my furnace closet revealed it was my hot water heater spewing water from the top. I thought, "Don't panic, you have a son who is a plumber."
Sometimes you just go through a streak of hard times. Mine started last October when my computer crashed. For a writer, that's not good. After two weeks of working with the Geek Squad to set up my new one, I felt I was doing OK, when, week three, it happened again: another computer breakdown. So back to the store to upgrade my computer.
I finally got through the computer issue when I had to sell my old van. I spent a lot of cash, but it just wouldn't pass emissions. I would miss it.
Then I caught a virus from one of my sons. For two to three weeks, I struggled to stir up an appetite in between the coughs.
Not quite over my virus, I tripped over my mop and fell flat on the floor. I praise God I didn't break a bone, but I was sore and could hardly walk for the next few weeks.
When turning on my microwave to warm up a meal, nothing happened.
"Oh no. Surely this can't be happening. Not my nice, over the stove microwave."
But it was broken beyond repair. So off to buy a new one.
Settling into a new year, I felt sure it was time for things to improve. But cloudy January days brought a bit of depression and I found the damp weather making my muscles ache. A gift of fuzzy socks, blanket and sunlamp from a life coaching client brought some relief.
Come February things were turning around. Then, beginning of March, this water heater issue happened.
When a time of hardship comes, I like to recall the Bible verse of the prophet Habakkuk and know: sometimes you just have to tough it out through a hard season and recall God is faithful to get you through.
• Annettee Budzban is a Christian author, speaker, life coach and nurse. She can be contacted at annetteebudzban@aol.com or (847) 543-8413.