God, You Are Not Funny!

(SPOILER WARNING - Read at your own risk!)

In Wade World, we've learned to laugh…a lot. Life just keeps happening, and there are just times when you can either choose to laugh or cry. So we've chosen to laugh.

Tonight though, I'm just not appreciating God’s sense of humor.

Though most of the time, you all just think I’m totally crazy and never have any doubts about our journey in life…I do some times. Today as we were driving to have a family picture taken for our dossier, my mind was racing. Not just with the list of things that needed to be done in a springtime snow storm (12 inches!), but also with uncertainties.

I know that this particular little girl is our daughter and sister. She’s a Wade. I have such peace about that, even in all the chaos and pressure of paperwork right now. But my thoughts wandered to some of the possible challenges that might lie ahead in our future when she comes home. During that drive, I wondered if we would be able to handle it all…the unexpected things…the unknowns.

Got my answers today!

We were doing laundry today. Nothing new. I usually do a minimum of two to three loads a day just to keep up. On the weekends Caleb and Miranda try to squeeze in time to do their own washing. As Caleb pressed the start button on the dryer today, it quit. Totally stopped working. This is a CRISIS of epic proportions in our home! I’m wading through piles of dirty clothes wondering how I will manage gathering all this up, plus Caleb and Miranda’s , and spend my day at a laundromat in the middle of a snow storm. I researched the cost of a new dryer on the computer. OUCH! Can’t afford that in the middle of an unplanned adoption with taxes due. What now?

Christopher collects a few tools and takes on the beast. It’s not working now, so what harm could he do? He tinkers, unplugs a few things, wipes away some dust and lint, puts it back together, and it works again. PRAISE THE LORD! We have no idea what he did. We’re just thankful that it is working for now. (God, I’m adding a new washer and dryer to my prayer list…for the future. Just in case You, didn’t know that already.)

Tomorrow is Caleb’s 16th birthday, so the family was getting ready to leave for a special dinner out to celebrate. Caleb had invited a friend to join us and then they would be going out to a movie…one not appropriate for all the shorter people in our family.

Just as I’m trying to get ready to go, I hear the Mommy Page…from my husband. Christopher was in over his head. Keziah had an accident, a really yucky one. This NEVER happens! Okay, two or three since she’s been home, she’s just been so busy that she hasn’t quite made it to the bathroom in time. But these have all been damp…not yucky. She seemed totally unfazed. Christopher is asking silly questions because we are now rushed to clean her up and leave in time to make dinner before the movie, “Does she need clean pants as well as clean underwear?” YES!!!

We finally get to the restaurant only to discover a one hour wait. Ugh! No time for that dinner and the guys still make the movie. Happy birthday, Son! Enjoy your movie and dinner AFTER, while I take the other four shopping. No, not fun stuff. Groceries and Wal-mart. Yipee?

On the way home, I pick up McDonald’s for the crew. Yum, what a nutritious meal! Nope, I didn’t order anything. (gagging sounds) I just couldn’t make myself eat the stuff. As the foursome is gobbling, Elijah happens to mention that his tummy doesn’t feel so great. Oh well. Surely he just needed some sleep. Right?

He heads off to bed with an empty ice cream bucket to keep him company. Then he comes back downstairs and sits at the kitchen table because he’s convinced it’s coming any minute now. Uhm…20 minutes later…why don’t you just go back to bed and keep me posted. Seriously, was I supposed to sit and wait with him for the big moment?

Time passes…over an hour…nothing.

I get busy with other things. Dishes. Toss in a load of laundry or two. Then I notice that the laundry room bathroom floor is wet. No, I didn’t miss! I explored. I got towels to try and soak up the mystery moisture. I would leave and then go back. Why was the floor wet?

The toilet! I finally figured it out. I had already checked all normal leaky-type places that I knew of, but I laid down and the floor and saw a drip. The toilet was leaking! What does one do about a leaky toilet? Put a towel underneath and wait for the man of the house to come home.

I’m sitting at my computer trying to work on stuff for children’s church. Desperately need a game idea. Googling…Wait, here is Elijah, “Mom, I threw up, and I thought the vomit bucket was on the floor by my bed. But I missed.”

Okay, there is missed by a little and then there is launched halfway across the room. If I wasn’t hungry for McD before…now I’m really glad I didn’t eat any of it. I cleaned as much as I could for now, but I’m thinking I will be worshipping the Lord tomorrow and praising God for my carpet cleaner again.

I’m just exhausted right now. The snow is still falling. Christopher finally made it home only to report that the roads are getting slick. I wonder if our church will cancel for bad weather?

So what’s the point of all this? I guess God was just showing me today that if we can make it through a “normal” day in the life of Wade, we can make with one more Wade.