We had discovered a big time delay in our schedule when planning the electrical upgrade on the rental house. The electric company (FPL) could not schedule the power cut off until May 7^th! The best we could do was to get on a cancellation list. When there’s nothing I can do, I’m pretty good at saying I’m leaving it in God’s hands, it’s his timeline I want to follow.

 

Suddenly, there’s been a cancellation and the electrical work is getting done this Monday. I’m overwhelmed with the speed at which this house could go on the market, overwhelmed with all that I have yet to do. I’m finding that it actually requires more trust in God’s timing when there are things I can and should do. Will he equip me in necessary ways? Will he bless my time management?

 M for Management

Being a general contractor is a complex job. When a house is being built, it’s not easy to get all the specialists on the site at the right time, with the right supplies and equipment. I think I’m getting a small taste of what that is like as we orchestrate this sale and this move. It’s a little like reverse house building.

Some days I have two or three workmen stopping by either to do work or to look and give proposals. I take them around and go over our lists with them. Sometimes I watch them work, or pitch in and help. Our houses are not brand new. As we “peel off layers” of furniture, dirt, etc… we find new things to fix or clean up. The plumber, bless his heart, has been back three times for small things that have come to light.

It’s almost looking like the rental house could be ready before my own house. I haven’t finished a couple of paint projects on my side, and then there is the packing… The packing, yes. The rental house is empty, our house is definitely not. Realizing that we could actually leave, once the pictures are taken and the house is listed, I am trying to figure out what should be stored long term, and what should be available for our use until we have another house. When should I order the storage container? How long will it take to pack it? Should we leave any furniture in the house? If we pack it all, how will we manage ourselves and for how long? How will all this coincide with the husband’s plans to give notice and stop working?

Even today, as I struggle to rest and restore, I am trying to figure things out. I am answering calls about the furniture listed on Marketplace. I am thinking about which box to put my daughter’s keepsake Raggedy Ann in. I am wishing I had mowed the lawn yesterday. I am wondering who might want our grandfather clock.  I am thinking, thinking, thinking, and not resting, resting, resting.  I struggle to be still.

Big changes require a lot of physical work and maybe more importantly, for me, a good deal of spiritual work. I am discovering what God’s plan for us is, by seeing what he makes possible. He is an excellent manager and he will thoroughly equip us to do what needs to be done.  I am comforted by that… just sayin’.