SB, I haven't been around much, but I just wanted you to know that you're strong enough to get through this. Pull up a chair, and listen to yet another one of my bedtime stories.

A long time ago, when my W and I were a very young couple with an infant, we lived in a crappy townhouse. A HUGE storm came through town. We didn't have any power, a couple of windows broke, there was water everywhere in the house, and the winds had pretty much dislodged everything that wasn't nailed down, and even a few things that were! This probably went on for about 6 hours, and it was an absolute nightmare.

Finally, the storm let up, and my W and I had stopped running around like crazy people, and the reality of the situation hit us smack in the face. The carpets were ruined, glass everywhere. We were one of those houses you see on the news. W was crying, baby was crying, and I was wandering around the house in complete disbelief.

I finally looked over at W, and said with mock seriousness, "Well, I've seen worse." I guess it's our sense of humor, but W and I started laughing about it. We both rolled up our sleeves, and got to work. It took a lot of really hard work, but we got the house cleaned up and repaired. After a few months, you couldn't tell that anything had happened.

So SB, you guys just had the storm hit your house. It sounds to me like your H is rolling up his sleeves. How about you? I guess the moral of that story is that no matter how messed up your house looks at the time, with a lot of hard work, and cooperation, you can get it cleaned up. <Sound of book slamming shut>

Jim

I know God won't give me anything I can't handle. I just wish He didn't trust me so much.