Picking Up The Pieces

It's not always clear how to move forward after a major disaster hits your life. Mark and I have had a few conversations about where we go from here. As Christians, we want to be sensitive to God's leading in our lives, but as every Christian knows, God's leading is also not always clear.

Shortly after the crash, we went to the wrecking yard and cleaned out the car because we believe they will probably total it as well. There was some pretty serious damage done to the frame.

On Tuesday, we returned to the RV and unloaded the fridge and freezer into our big cooler and brought it back to the hotel room, which has a full-size refrigerator. We were surprised to find most of the meat was still frozen. The internal temperature of the freezer was still at 30 degrees, and the fridge was at about 55 degrees. We tossed a few things, especially leftovers and half used up bottles & jars. Surprisingly, nothing inside the fridge was damaged, though there was some spillage.

Then we put together some pots and pans, dishware, cooking and eating utensils, the coffee pot (which also survived--it was stored in the sink), and some other miscellaneous items to take back to the hotel with us. 

How to proceed over the next days and weeks has been the main topic of discussion between Mark and me. It became clear early on that we would have to move out of the RV, regardless of whether it would be repaired (unlikely) or scrapped. With that in mind, we talked about how to store our personal goods in the meantime. We thought about Pods (moving/storing), but with this option it may be difficult or inconvenient to get to our stuff if we needed to access it before actually moving into another place. We also considered renting a U-Haul truck and hauling our stuff to Valdosta, Georgia, where the Hoffmans (Mark's daughter and her family) live. That option turned out costing more than we really wanted to spend.

Conch House in Key Largo

Lunch break at the
Conch House

In the end, the Hoffmans offered to loan us their enclosed trailer and a vehicle. Thank God for families-- especially families with resources!  Mark would fly to Valdosta to pick them up and drive them back down here to Miami, where we are staying while we wrap up loose ends. 

Now we had a plan. Mark got busy and booked a one-way flight from Miami to Valdosta with Delta, and in the process discovered he had built up enough "SkyMile" points with them to pay the entire cost of the flight. That surprised both of us since we haven't really flown anywhere in a while. 

So in preparation for moving out, we made another trip to the RV on Thursday to start the laborious task of packing up our belongings. It took us the better part of the day to get about half the job done--on the inside, that is. The rest will have to wait until moving day. 

Until you have to move out of a place you don't realize how much stuff you have, even after you've gotten rid of everything except what you believe you "can't live without." I wonder if we couldn't easily live without a good many more of the things we have squirreled away in all the nooks and crannies of that motorhome that we think we "need."

Extra-tiny kitchen cooking
in our hotel room

Friday morning we put Mark on a plane to Valdosta. Today, Saturday, he is driving back to Miami. And Sunday we'll turn in the rental car and load up the trailer. Mark was able to employ the two sons of the wrecking yard owner to help with loading the basement items into the trailer. That task shouldn't take more than an hour or two with three men tackling it. While they're doing that, I will finish packing up the inside into boxes, and between the two of us, we should be able to get everything else done by the end of the day.

We received confirmation this week that the motorhome will indeed be scrapped. No word yet on the car. Monday we'll depart Miami and return to Valdosta where we'll stay until we decide on a new home. 

I trust God to supply our needs, but what we need more than anything right now is a clear sense of His will for us. Please help us pray for guidance as we move forward into the dark unknown.

With God, the future is ALWAYS bright!
...even when it seems dark.