Not in the plans

So, when I wrote my last post on Thursday, I was thrilled looking ahead at my calendar for the weekend, which had NOTHING written on it (seriously abnormal for us!) The plan for Friday was to spend the morning with my horse, stop and buy a vacuum on the way home, and finish up the bathrooms, ironing, and vacuuming. Then, the rest of the weekend was going to include some relaxing, quiet time at home with my hubby. God had different, nonetheless better, but different plans for us for sure.

On Friday morning we found out that there had been a fire in the middle of the night at Danny's parents house. We knew that they were okay, but we could not get ahold of them. So, Danny went to work, and I went to the barn. Eventually, Danny's mom called him, and we got the update...there had been a fire in the kitchen, but it was out, and she was away from the house doing laundry. When I was leaving the barn, I really was feeling like I should stop by and see if there was anything I could do for them. I wasn't sure if they were even there, but I was feeling really strongly that I should go by.

When I got to the house, Jeff (Danny's oldest brother) was already there with their parents. They all looked pretty down, and Mrs. Cole walked me through the house. It was way worse than I had expected from what we were hearing. In the living room, the carpets were soaking wet from the hoses, and there were strings of the foam that firemen use hanging from the ceiling. When we walked into the kitchen, I couldn't believe it. This was no small fire! Everything that had been in the fridge was all over the floor, mostly melted and soaking wet. The refrigerator itself was mostly melted inside, with all the shelves gone. The wall between the kitchen and bathroom had been ripped out, as had the ceiling, and part of the wall into the bedroom.

After a few minutes of talking, hugs for Mrs. Cole, and seeing the house, I called Danny to give him the update. Hearing how bad it was, he decided to come up from work. We spent the rest of the day with Jeff and Steve boxing up the house to move their stuff out. I came home around 9, and Danny followed around 11:30.

So...another part of this weekend...on Thursday, I got a call from my brother, asking if we would be willing to host the seniors of their youth group for a weekend away. Initially, we were a little surprised, but decided that it would be a good chance to serve, and hospitality is something we are trying to work on, especially with this beautiful house God has given us. So we agreed, and I spent some time on the computer trying to find activities for them.

They arrived on Friday night (yes, after the fire cleanup) around 9:30, and after getting ice cream, getting settled in, seeing the house and the area, we all got to bed around 1. Saturday morning, Danny and I sent them off to the beach and worked to get some house repairs done. In the evening, we joined them for a wonderful dinner (thanks Matt!) and a great time watching them play games at ESPNZone. After getting home from the harbor and getting breakfast ready for Sunday morning, we got to bed around 2.

We got up Sunday at 6, got ready, and headed out to church. It was a definite miracle that we both stayed awake through church! In the afternoon, we gave Danny's parents a tour through the Hollin's (our caregroup leaders) house. They are on a road trip out west, and graciously offered their home as a place to stay for a little while.

We basically collapsed when we got home, and slept for about two hours. We were exhausted!

I know this is a long post, but God used this weekend to show me the blessing of serving and giving to others. Even though it was a really chaotic weekend, and I was completely physically exhausted, the joy of serving other people made it worth it. Also, I felt less exhausted than I often do on a weekend filled with "fun" activities. It was great to get to know Matt's group, to stay up late preparing breakfast for them, to pack and move all day for Danny's parents, even though all these things were not in the plans for the weekend. It just goes to show that we don't always know these plans, and that whatever God has planned for us may be crazy, but it's better than what we would have done on our own. We were tired, but spiritually refreshed by serving others, forgetting about ourselves for a little while, and seeing the joy on their faces.