August 19, 2012- Sunday

August 19, 2012 – Sunday

            Oh it’s a BEAUTIFUL Sunday  morning! Everything is quiet, the kitties are sleeping, and I am praising the Lord for such a beautiful morning! Everything feels right.

            I woke up this morning, started to make coffee, and the water was out. So I got a couple of bottles of water, and  poured it in the coffee maker, and got it to going.

            I tried another faucet, and it was out too, so I flipped the breaker, and still no water. I sat down on my couch, and got to thinking about how we weren’t going to be able to go to church, and surrendered to the Lord, that He is in control, so He must not want us to go to church for some reason this morning, though I didn’t know what it was. I didn’t get frustrated, or even mad, just resigned.

            I got up to go potty, and realized quickly, we had no water, so I tried the faucet one more time, and sure enough, the water was on. Praise be To the LORD my God! So it looks like we are going to church!

            I thought our pump was out, cause we have well water, and I really could see us spending all day trying to get that fixed, and I had no idea where we were going to get the money to fix it, or who we would get to fix it, or where we would even begin to get a pump. I thought I guess we’ll have to take showers at Mama & Daddy’s tomorrow while we’re at work. I didn’t know what? But the Lord in His mysterious ways, gave us our water back. But it makes me want to order a pump to have on hand, just for things like this.

            It’s so nice not to have to pay a water bill to the city, but sometimes it’s not so nice, because sometimes we can’t drink the water, cause it’s brown, but I guess it’s the same in the city. I’m definitely not begging or yelling for them to come out here and install city water. One less bill to pay in my book. That’s what you get when you live in the middle of nowhere….it’s so nice. J

            Brian is still asleep, but I’m about to blast his happy butt out of bed, cause we’ve got church in 2 hours! I’m so excited to go to the Lord’s house, and listen to His message, and worship Him! He’s got to have some wonderful instruction for us this morning, and I can’t wait to hear it, so that I can grow some more!

            I get dressed up on Sundays, usually curl my hair and put on makeup. While I’m in the mirror, I think about how I’m getting dressed up for the Lord, cause He’s going to be there. Which reminds me, I’m going to have to run to Mama’s cause I left my make up over there, AGAIN!

            And poor Mama! I just woke her up! Poor poor Mama! Ahhh, I guess I’m going to have to start carrying that gold suitcase around with me everywhere I go every day, so this won’t happen again.  She’s going to leave it outside on top of her car, so she can go back to sleep. Oh, I pray she gets some good sleep this morning.

            Driving there and back is going to take a good 30 minutes, so I’m going to have to leave here by 8:30 at the latest.

            I just woke Brian up. He was crabby, but he’s cheering up quickly. I said it was a beautiful morning, and he said, “in the neighborhood”.

9:32am

            The day started off really good. We went to church this morning, and Brian and I were both uplifted in the singing and the preaching. We stopped by Mama & Daddy’s after church, to see how they were, and see if they had anything cooking for lunch, cause we were hungry!

            They were tired, and had been working all weekend to get towers back up and running. Daddy was about to leave with Chris, and they were going to climb a tower, and get it fixed while Mama stayed at home. I really felt for them, but there was nothing we could do.

            Mama had cooked biscuits and had some eggs and cheese left over, so I ate a couple of bites of that (100), and then she revealed her marvelous homemade peach pie, which I had to have a piece of (350), and then I had a pickled egg (80), some coffee (100). Total at Mama and Daddy’s = 600……and I didn’t even eat a meal!

            We had to go to Walmart and buy a coffee pot, cause ours quit working this morning before church. Mama needed us to pick up some things for her, so we planned to go, but when we got in the car, I was so crabby, I decided I needed a nap RIGHT NOW. There would be no waiting. I had to have one that instant, and couldn’t fight through going to Walmart. So we called Mama and told her we’d go later, and headed home.

            When we got home,  I sat on the couch for a minute, and Brian told me how much he enjoyed church this morning, and that the sermon had really touched him, and that he planned on reading his Bible every day, and growing in Him.

            I was so glad, and gave him a hug, and then I ran back to the bedroom and laid down in my dress and all, so tired and ready for a nap. We planned to go to church tonight as well, so I knew I needed to go ahead and get in my nap.

            We hadn’t laid down for 5 minutes, when the phone started ringing. I told Brian not to answer it, we were napping, but he got up, and answered it anyway. I stayed in the bed, but in about 2 minutes, he walked in.

            Erin, get up now. Erin Get up.

            I knew something was wrong. He never says that to me like that, and I saw the look on his face. What’s wrong? What happened?

            It’s David.     

            David who?

            David.

            Brian could speak no more. He just handed me the phone, and began crying. Todd explained to me that David Arrington, Brian’s brother and my brother in law, had passed away.

            Brian talked to Todd a little bit longer, and then got off, and we were both in total shock. Neither one of us knew what to do. I started eating while Brian was on the phone with Todd. I was so nervous. First I ate beef jerky, then some relish from the tacos. Anything available that I could get my hands on.

            Brian told me to call Mama. She answered and said she knew, that she had talked to Todd when he couldn’t get us. We had decided to go           to Mississippi as soon as we could. We felt that Brian really needed his family today.

            He talked to a few more of his family members, and to me some,  and then we decided it was time to pack. I didn’t have any suitcases, so we stuffed all our things into garbage bags, and headed to Mama’s to unload the bags into suitcases, and tell her we’d see her later in the week.

            I drove to Mama’s because Brian didn’t need to drive. When we got there, we packed the suitcase, packed for 4 days, because we don’t know how long we are going to be there, or when the funeral will be, and we needed to be prepared to stay the duration.

            Turned out that I had left our hanging clothes, and my black dress at home, so I had to run home to get them.  I didn’t really want to go, but it turned out to be a blessing, me having some time to myself to think about things.

            I was confused, and a little angry. On the way back, I finally told God “I can’t. Please help me.” 

            I got back to Mom and Dad’s, and Mom had talked to Brian’s Dad, and they, including Brian, had all decided that it was best to just stay here tonight, and come tomorrow.

            So we stayed at Mom & Dad’s a little while. Mama ran and bought some groceries and got us a coffee pot. Daddy called and talked to Brian, and he was upset, cause my Daddy loves with all his heart, and it hurts him to see anyone hurting, especially his family.

            Brian and I have been praying all night, off and on, and I feel sure that the Lord will bring us through this together. I know that I placed my trust in Him to do just that, and I know He is faithful to bring us through.

            When we got home, I sat with Brian a while, and then started sewing for a while, and then me and Brian watched Falling Skies season Finale.

            We talked and prayed some more, and Brian told the Lord, “I can’t.”

            We’re in the Mancave now, and wouldn’t you know, he’s playing against Mississippi State tonight, David’s team. Brian has been sharing memories of playing games with David, and times that they watched football together. I figure that’s God’s way of saying, You’ll never be without David. And possibly, David’s thinking about Brian right now.

            I’m right here with Brian, but my thoughts are with the whole family tonight, especially Lacie, David’s wife, and his two children, twins of 6 yrs, Maddie Grace and Miles, and Eloise, David’s mother. I cannot imagine the hurt they are experiencing, and I just pray that God’s grace and comfort cover them completely, and that The Lord put His guiding Hands upon them all, and carry them through all this.

            David was a good ole boy. He was a big man, kind, generous, and loving to all he met. There’s so much to say about David, and I know he will be missed terribly to all those that know and love him.

            We are going to Mississippi in the morning, leaving at 8am, and will probably stay the duration, until after the funeral.

            I thank God for the prayers of my Christian friends, and for their love and support for our family today and in the coming days. I know it’s going to get tougher as we see the rest of the family tomorrow.

            I didn’t walk, and I’ll probably overeat this week, and gain all the weight back, but there’s always tomorrow, to get back on the diet, because trust me, that’s the last thing on my mind right now.

            But I do know that I’ve got to keep living, and trust in the Lord, to keep us going strong day after day, loving each other, and not taking each other for granted.