There was a traffic jam at our house last night. It took place between 11:30 p.m. and 12 a.m., I think. I’m not totally sure of the time because I was dosing off to sleep and awakened by the traffic jam and I didn’t look at a clock.
It all started the day before…on Wednesday. Our house is full right now…I love a full house. Both college kids are home and the kids who are not yet in college (there are three of those) are home because that is where they stay. And my husband and I are home, because we live here too. And my mom is visiting for Christmas…so she is at our home too. So, as I said, our house is full …full of people…and a Golden Retriever dog and a cat. (Did I mention that I love it when our house is full.)
College daughter got home a week and a half ago. Our grandmother arrived this past Wednesday afternoon and oldest son arrived the next day on Thursday afternoon.
On Wednesday afternoon, after my mother, my children’s grandmother arrived; she told me that her car started having trouble when she pulled into our driveway. We were all thankful that there were no problems until then.
Oldest son called to say when he would be home on Thursday and he told me that his car had been having problems and needed to be looked at while he was home.
When I passed all of this car problem information on to my husband when he got home from work, we knew that we needed to find a mechanic, and hoped that we could since it was only a couple of days before Christmas.
And then, just to add to all of the good news that my husband had received upon entering our home after a long day at work, two of our sons informed us all that the toilet in their bathroom wasn’t working correctly…the water wouldn’t stop running when it was flushed. They kind of told us in unison, though they said they didn’t plan it that way.
So we cut off the water to the broken toilet and directed bathroom traffic to the other two bathrooms in our house…one connected to my daughter’s room, and one connected to my bedroom, which is also my husband’s bedroom because that’s how we roll.
Our children tend to prefer the bathroom connected to their parent’s bedroom. So throughout the next day and evening, I watched the bathroom traffic patterns…and the traffic didn’t really stop once it was my bedtime. I thought it would stop because I thought most of our children went to bed around the same time I did, but then I guess they got up again because it must be fun to walk through mom and dad’s room in the middle of the night.
I kept hearing footsteps and watching doors open and close and more footsteps and then a “Harumph” sound as the child who had just made the trek across the house discovered a sibling had gotten there before them. This happened multiple times (tonight no one drinks any liquid after 8 p.m., just like when they were small).
The traffic jams not only kept me awake, but they made me giggle just a little bit, listening to their strange noises that communicated their waiting-in-line frustration…knowing that they will survive until the broken toilet is repaired. Yes, the broken toilet that my man is working on and I have every confidence that he will fix, is an inconvenience, but really nothing more. Cars needing repair work are inconveniences and really nothing more.
So in the past few days, it seems there have been a lot of little inconveniences piling up around our house…inconveniences, nothing more. They are nothing in light of the tragedy that struck at a neighbor’s home across the road. The death of a teenage child entered into their Christmas season this past Saturday, and I cannot imagine what they may be feeling.
As I watched the traffic jam in my bathroom last night, I thought of this family. When I awoke this morning, I thought of this family. As I wrapped the last of Christmas presents and placed them under our tree, I thought of this family. I’ve thought of them in all kinds of moments since I heard about their daughter’s death. I’ve thought about the numbness they must feel…the sadness…the agony…the longing to hold that child again.
And when I think of them, I pray, I’m not sure what else to do. I pray that God will somehow be their comfort and their strength just to get through the moments of each day. God says in His Word that He is near to the broken-hearted and I have to believe that is true. Jesus Christ is the only source of hope I know when tragedy such as this happens…it is certainly beyond me.
“The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who crushed in spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)
On this day, two days before Christmas, I pray that God is very close to this grieving family, and that my Heavenly Father who gave His only Son, will save those crushed in spirit and experiencing such incredible pain.
pieces and ponderings 