"Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success."
Richard Carlson
Since Hurricane Irma decided to pick on our house and drop a tree on it, being suddenly homeless without a home to go to has forced me to look back and reflect on my life.
Of course there are the obvious "why me" questions I usually ask God when things are not going right. Almost immediately, my thoughts turned to the reason why. I've always believed in fate and destiny, with everything happening for a reason.
Although The Captain goes home several times a week to meet with potential contractors, I have not returned to see the damage. For now, it is better to not be confronted with the coldness of my home being so damaged we can't live there.
Better is finding something positive in this drastic life experience. The most logical is to learn the lesson of patience, which I have none, but learning to deal with everything in a relatively calm manner. Through the years, I have been trying to learn how to deal with those things in life that can't be controlled. God just gave me a huge push to understand the importance of patience.
It could be that the "reason why" won't be revealed until it is supposed to come to light. Perhaps my future focus on life will be entirely different than it is today due to this experience . . . the new purpose I had been praying for.
Be careful what you pray for!
What have I learned in this month away from home? I didn't realize how much I love that house, even with the disorganization and chaos. It has been there for me since JR and I moved in on Christmas Eve of 1984. What a delightful Christmas present it was! Such a happy house . . . I had forgotten those magical days of promising new beginnings and starting a new adventure. It was my place to hide and find peace when JR died, holding so many happy memories of my past life, love, precious pets who touched my life so profoundly that have crossed Rainbow Bridge and the huge back yard garden that was once my sanctuary which has turned into an unruly forest.
The magic was gone and it turned into a roof over my head . . . ultimately, the leaky roof over my head. Like so many other things in life, I took my sweet little house for granted.
The damage has not been fully assessed since there are areas that can't be reached until the tree is off the house.
I have no idea if any of this makes sense, even to me . . . but at least I am ready to confront the "reason why" this happened to us and none of our neighbors. God has the plan and the reason why.
