"The Stuff You Own Ends Up Owning You"

So the blog activity slowed suddenly just as it was getting off the ground. Well, that's partially due to the fact that, last Tuesday, my entire roof almost got off the ground. In other words, my closet exploded.

I just had just arrived for a day of playing music at EPCOT, when I received a call from my wife, telling me there was an explosion, she had to put out a fire on our back porch, and the fire department had just shown up. So i turned around and drove home as speed-limit consciously as I could (trying to stay consistent with my previous post, but pushing it a little, you understand). The video shows what I came home to:

The kicker is -- Christi had been studying on the porch a little over an hour before the door blew off the closet and right through the table and chair where she had been sitting. It was a hot day here in Florida that day, and fortunately she became uncomfortable.

I think that's as good a place as any to stop and meditate - "fortunately, she became uncomfortable." I mean - what if it was a beautiful day outside, just the right temperature, cool breeze blowing, comfortable? Thank goodness we don't always get what we want.

It's been an amazing two weeks. I might even go as far as calling it a blessing. In fact, yes. That what it was.

I've heard people say stuff like this before. I've never understood it before now. How can losing things be a blessing?

The blessing was in contrast to the anguish I "should" have been feeling, at the hassle of the loss, the time it will take to rebuild, having no AC for a week. But this shadiness gets burned away by a brighter light: How many people called, emailed, instant messaged me, from my church especially, saying "Thank goodness everyone is all right! Anything I can do to help?" It's amazing.

I don't want to go too deep except to say that I think I'm actually thankful for all this - two weeks out, we have no hot water. I've learned to enjoy the cold showers. I've been trying to keep that feeling of being surrounded by love and all-too-often-unseen blessings raging in my life.

I'm thankful for the peace I've had through all of this. Like it's no big deal that my house almost burned down. Maybe I'm getting older? Maybe getting older isn't so bad.