Raising The Roof... (literally!)

From the “just between you and me” department...
So, last we chatted, I was asking about what you hope for in the new year that you would try to improve on. Me, I walked out of my house last week in the hope of getting together with my gal pal and enjoying the holidays and her birthday and have a great time. Well, I got (figuratively speaking) a swift kick in the pants. I walk to my car to head to church, and as I start to open the car door, I look back at my house, and notice that part of the roof is gone!! My jaw dropped and my heart sank. I just looked at roof and all that was there in the one corner was wood. Everything else was gone. I was numb. The wind storm that hit during the night before had wreaked havoc on my roof, the siding on my house, and the roof of the garage. There were 60 mph winds and higher wind gusts and the shingles couldn't stay in place. I swallowed hard and went to church anyway, choosing to thank God that nobody got hurt and that there were no leaks into the house. Trust me, that wasn't an easy thing to do. But that I did and I'm glad that I did. Our pastor just happened to be talking about being tested and how to be grateful to God during the tough times. Coincidence? I think not... So I go home and look at the roof again and this time, I wasn't so angry or sick about it. I felt better. I knew that I had a lot of stuff to do to get done, but I knew I was going to be okay. The only bad spot was that my girlfriend was expecting me to be coming to see her in a matter of a couple of hours and I had to let her know that I wasn't going to make it. To say she was disappointed is a great understatement. I couldn't be with her for Christmas. I couldn't be with her for her birthday. And now because of a stinkin' roof, I wasn't sure if I'd get to see her at all. Well, I threw my arms up and asked God to handle this one. As I was reporting all the details outside on my cell phone, a neighbor of mine is driving down the road and stops and gives me his card. Turns out he's a roofer and said he'd be able to help me to get this puppy taken care of. I felt better immediately. After getting the info I needed, I was able to go 2 days late and head to the gal pal's and spend a couple of days with her and her family. I took her out for dinner and a movie and by the time that we got home, it was 11:25pm on new year's eve. We were both so tired that we forgot that it was new year's eve. I had kissed her goodnight and when we seen each other the next morning, we both laughed when we realized that we missed bringing in the new year together. But we made up for it on new year's day... lol... So, what started out as miserable week, ended up being a pretty good one after all. So I thank GOD for being so good and giving me peace during difficulties and helping me deal with what seemed to be a rotten situation and putting people in my path that allow me to not only resolve things, but give me the perspective to realize that I needed to deal with everything and keep my sense of humor and calm throughout the whole ordeal. Plus my gal pal. Without her being there, I'd be toast. She wasn't happy about me not being there at the beginning of the week. But she understood and continues to amaze me with who she is... a true gift from God...