Water Heater Blues

Hey, y'all--

Yesterday I was singing the "Water Heater Blues," but today I am just singing God's praises, for how He works things out. Always in HIS timing, of course, and never in mine -- for some reason, I always end up sweating it out before the answer comes through. But what happened was, our water heater basically blew its bottom out, and water was gushing thru the bottom of our trailer! The only way we found out about it was that our kitchen faucet stopped working. So we called Roto Rooter. Bottom line, the estimate to fix the faucet was about $350, and the water heater $1200. $1200!!!!!

We had to pay the guy $45 just for the estimate (his time), which was like for nothing, and which was bad enough, and when he left, my husband and I just sat down and cried. Literally. Now you might understand l'il ole me crying, all 4'10" of me... but my husband is 6'5" and weighs 250 lbs. And has 2 black belts in karate. And to see this man literally crying in front of me just broke my heart. Because we just didn't know what to do! I mean, where were we going to get that kind of money? We have a total of $500 in our savings, which would cover the kitchen faucet, but no way could we come up with $1200 for the water heater! We don't have credit cards, and we don't know any rich people. So we literally just sat there and cried.

Well, Bill (hubby) went out on the back porch to think, I guess, and I sat in the house, crying, and I said out loud to God, "Ok, Lord, you knew this was going to happen. So you already have a solution to this. It sure would be good if you would let me know what it is!" And that was my whole prayer, before I just started crying again, because I was just so overwhelmed, ya know? I just did not know what else to do. In the meantime, every minute we couldn't repair it, that water heater was just gushing out water, and my water bill was going up and up and up, along with my electric bill.

Well, Bill was to be the featured speaker at the AA meeting last night, so about an hour after the bad news on the water heater, off we went to the AA meeting. Everyone was asking us what was wrong, so we told them. Less than a half hour later, two men offered to come over and put a new water heater in for us, so all we'd have to do was buy a new water heater and parts. They wouldn't charge us anything for labor. I just sat there, and the tears started up again, because I was amazed at what God had done -- how He had answered my prayer! Not in MY timing, but in HIS timing.

So today they came and put a brand new water heater in my home, and with that and the new kitchen faucet, it will be less than what we had in savings. Let me tell you, God is a miracle working God!

But now let me tell you what this has to do with bipolar disorder. I had a choice to make when I first heard the news about the water heater. Yes, I cried -- I was overwhelmed by the news, knowing we had no way to come up with the $1200. But I could have chosen to go climb into bed, pull the covers over my head, and go into a deep depression. And there was a time when I would have done that. Because there was a time when my BP controlled me, rather than the other way around. But today, I realize that depression doesn't solve anything. I can be as depressed as I want, climbing under the covers, crying, and everything -- but when I come out from under the covers, the problem is still going to be there.

Do I like it when life kicks me in the butt like that? Hell, no. I'm sure you don't either! But we don't have to take it lying down, either! We have a choice. We can stand up and fight the depression from BP -- do the best we can with what we've got. And sometimes that ain't a whole lot, but it's the best we can do. In AA I say, sometimes it's all I can do just to not drink. Well, with my BP, sometimes it's all I can do just to not get depressed. So, some days are harder than other days. So when I start complaining and being depressed about having a bad day, remind me of what I said, will ya? :)

Remember that God loves you, and so do I!
Michele