Wow! The end of January already! How could the first month of the year have vanished so quickly. Sorry about yesterday, Lord. It was a very confusing day with not a moment of peace to be had. As it is I only have a little bit of time to spend with you now because there’s only Nathan and me at home and he’s playing a game in his room. As you know, Andrew’s taken Emily to church, but I thought it was probably prudent to keep Nathan at home for another week a) just to be on the safe side chicken pox-wise b) to make sure that he’s as well as he can be for the start of kindy on Tuesday and c) because there’s still officially no Sunday School programme until next week.
Anyway, back to yesterday. Getting Linley out of the door proved an absolute mission on account of the fact that she had so thoroughly settled in to our house. Little wonder I suppose, given that she’s been here two months. Andrew was a bit perturbed to find that leaving does not at this stage include taking the majority of stuff from our garage. She took her bedroom furniture but since this new flatmate’s (Amanda) flat is already furnished there isn’t a lot of need for most of Linley’s own things. Apparently she’s going to take the “wait and see” approach and will either stay with Amanda and then flog her own possessions, or end up getting a place of her own.
I could tell Andrew was ready to scream and jump up and down like a toddler having a tantrum, but somehow Linley has the innate ability to simply state things in a way that is beyond refute – which is probably why she’s so suited to being a lawyer. Anyway, I pray you would find us a way to get rid of those things sooner rather than later, Lord. Thankfully – for now – Andrew’s relief at getting Linley out of the house is greater than his desire for his garage back.
So, just as we are outside madly waving goodbye with huge smiles on our faces, another car pulls up, and it’s Jess and Madison. I must admit that I hadn’t thought too much about them since Christmas what with all else that’s been going on, but of course as soon as I saw Jess’s face I could tell things were not good. So in she came and over coffee out came the latest tail of woe. I had forgotten in an unforgivable way that she had lost her job and was in danger of losing her home and the update of the situation was not encouraging. In spite of applying for a whole raft of jobs none have come good, and to top it off she hasn’t been able to afford the rent for the last week. The landlord is apparently not of a charitable disposition and has served her with an eviction notice, effectively meaning that she and Madison have to be out of their house by Friday.
Then came the crunch sentence, that she wouldn’t ask if it wasn’t an emergency, but would there be any possibility of the two of them coming to stay until she found a new job and place to live? Or just for a week or two? Or just for a few days? Whatever we could manage, really.
I’m afraid I could have cried on the spot. My new peaceful existence that I’ve been picturing evaporated like a mirage. Privacy, time to think, time to get some things sorted, time to work out what I should be doing with my life – all of these things just disappeared. Because of course I said “yes” even with Andrew doing his best throat-slitting impression behind Jess’s back, because neither of us would really refuse with such dire circumstances before her.
I wonder, Lord, am I being punished for being a bad Christian? Is there something you are trying to tell me? Because if there’s a lesson to be learned I’d really sort of like to learn it and move on – in fact anything so that I can get my house back! In the meantime, I pray for a new job and home for Jess, for something miraculous to happen before Friday so that she doesn’t have to move in, and for a boatload of patience because I fear I have none left. In your name…Amen