Bye Bye Battleship

Hurricane Dennis blew through in July 2005. Obviously, with all we had been through with our house, we decided to evacuate. The storm came and went without what appeared to be obvious damage. But, as the next couple of weeks wore on, the poor old battleship began to show just what it had been through this past year. Outlets began to not work, we found that odd but assumed that perhaps...just maybe we had forgotten to turn back on a breaker. No, that wasn't the culprit. Late at night the old ship would make it's little creaks and pops and for a bit, we chalked it up to age. Old houses make strange noises you know. But, try as we might, we just could not reassure ourselves, after all most homes don't make sounds that resemble loud cracking thunder. And what was that sound that resembled a kids fourth of july sparkler? Hmm.

In an attempt to put our minds at rest, we decided to do a thorough investigation of our home. There was damage...serious damage. Through all the storms, the bolts holding the aluminum on began to weaken, and well...they just couldn't hold their own. The siding was coming loose that explained our almost nightly thunder. This was something that was fixable, so we began checking through our list of other things to check. It ended up that during Dennis, water had gotten into the electrical wiring, that explained the sparkler noises...it was our wires shorting themselves out. The alternative? Completely rewire the house. A cost that we simply could not afford while replacing siding, adding a sturdier roof, and remodeling the entire inside to suit our needs. And the addition? Well, it suffered more damage than the main structure of the house did...it's interior ceilings were beginning to fall and wall began to buckle and what on earth was all that green stuff? MOLD! The more we did the math, the greater the cost to save the old ship.

And, an immediate opportunity came available. My husband's father needed live in care. Family was less expensive than hired help, their house was plenty big enough. We could remain within the neighborhood we loved so much. Remain close to those we cared about. We decided that we would say good bye to the battleship, thankful for all the happy memories it gave us as a family, and continue on this path that the Lord has placed us on and see just where this path may lead.

Life is changing for my family. I don't always understand everything. I've spent many a night in prayer about my battleship. However, I have to remind myself that God is always in control. And it's time for the battleship to retire, the Lord provided then, is providing now, and will provide in the future.