Before the Storm

This may have to be broken up into a couple posts. There is so much that I want to share. I almost thought of breaking it up by the senses, but I think I'll just keep it in chronological order. Last Saturday started off somewhat normally. I say somewhat, because I took Bella out like I normally do. I came back in and was hoping to lay down for a few more minutes before getting up and having breakfast. Not long after, I got a text telling me that some men from my mom's church were coming over to take care of some things at our house. Our washer has been spewing water everywhere, a drain pipe was loose, an outside faucet was leaking, some steps needed to be nailed down again. So mom and I got up and tried to look as presentable as possible before they came. As I was making the eggs for our breakfast, there was a knock on the door, and the first of the men arrived, followed not long after by a couple more, and a couple more, (one being the pastor) later on. I showed them where some of the problems of concern were,and right away they got started. The carpet in the laundry room needed to come up because of being soaked by the washer. The easiest way to get it out of the house would be through the trap door which had not been opened since dad had gotten too sick to go downstairs, so it had been a while. And I was too scared to even begin to open it. The brave men got it open and it wasn't as scary as I thought. There were no creatures living under the steps or hidden in the door or walls, and the steps were still in good working condition which had been another concern of mine...good to know! Though, if I can help it, I will not be opening that door or testing the steps out again anytime soon without someone else being there. The soaking wet carpets were brought out, and the washing machine was checked out. The reason for all of the water was found to be a small hole in the bottom of the tub of the washer. The hole probably could have been patched up, but the men decided to get a washing machine that had been sitting in the shed of the church for a few months, and seemed to be in good working condition, and give that one to us. They took our old one and put it in the shed at the church. They are going to see if one of the men of the church could fix it, and hold on to it for someone else in the future who may need it. So that morning we got a "new" washing machine. The wet, moldy carpet had been removed, the drain pipe was fixed, the faucet to the outside turned off to keep it from dripping needlessly (saving us money). A couple of other things were left to finish up for another day, and with other men that would be able to better help with those. What a blessing to have all of these things done by wonderful men of God who wanted to be a help to us. Men who expected nothing in return than just the knowledge that they were doing God's work for God's people, following Scripture. They left in the early afternoon after having worked very hard. What a blessing to be so well taken care of and loved by these people!
I had planned to go to the mall quickly after they left, but by the time they left and I was ready to go, sleet was starting to come down...the sleet that was supposed to just be the start of a possible huge storm. Sleet...in October??? Huge storm...in October??? Sounds crazy doesn't it? Well, it ended up being much crazier than any of us expected. Alfred was coming...
Lord, thank you so much for your constant provision for us. Thank you for these men who just wanted to be a blessing! Bless them for being a blessing to us! Also, thank you for allowing these things to be taken care of before the craziness of the storm came. You were right on time, as you always are, though so often I have trouble with that. Help me to trust your timing and your knowledge for what we need when we need it.