Her renter was treating my mom's home like a dumping ground. Trash filled the home and yard with old food left to rot in the home. The family vacated on Friday but from the photos it looks as if the home was vandalized. The nearly century old wood floors have burn marks. The antique front door has the glass broken out of the window. The tub is filled with standing water. The interior doors are kicked in. If you know my mom, she cleans her house often and everything is ALWAYS in its place. I told my mother not to view the photos in order to keep her from becoming upset and feeling helpless.
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| This is not an actual photo of the house, but this is the level of destruction. |
My first reaction was to get a gun. I think part of that is living in Texas and the other part of that is my very hot temper. I start to talk about legal recourse, calling the cops and reporting vandalism, calling her (my mom's former tenant) new landlord and sending him the pictures of how she left the home, or even sending a scathing e-mail from an attorney. I want to make her hurt like she's done to my mom. My mom has been a great landlord always tending to every need quickly and thoroughly, treating the family like her own child was living in the house. Unfortunately, the woman and her family treated the home like their garbage can. Her husband was unemployed for the entire time they lived in the home and they also had children and a pet(we did not allow pets or know about it until after the fact). You would think the husband would try to keep the home tidy while the wife worked. Nope.
I am breathing fire, as you can see! My mom promptly calls the realtor and thanks her for her attention to every detail. She talks about the house and what she needs to do to clean it up and get it ready to sell. She tells the realtor that her tenant had e-mailed her earlier in the week asking for an extension through Friday to clean the house properly. My mom is a little confused that this was her idea of clean. Then she says something profound, "God sees everything. He sees how I treat them and how they treat me. In the end, everything will work out. Let's just move forward." I wanted to cry. My first reaction was to hurt the woman and my mother's first reaction was to put it in God's hands. Darn it!! When will I ever learn?????
The other part of having faith and trusting that God will move on your behalf means you must understand it may never be seen or known on this side of heaven. My mom has lived a full life; one of reaping and sowing. She is always careful of what leaves her lips or her actions as she recognizes they have a lasting impression. She has reaped both sweet and bitter harvests in her life. I know and understand much of my blessing is part of what my grandmother and mother have lived before me through their careful planting and harvesting. Their attention to God's word and direction for our lives has been paramount in their lives and I hope to some day be as wise and as tempered as both of them. For now, I am thankful for a mother who leads by example(Day 86). Dear God, forgive me for wanting to take revenge on this woman. Thank you for caring for my mom and for blessing her abundantly. I hope you will consider your circumstances and go to God FIRST. He is more than capable to carry the burden.
I think this is the second showing of this scripture this week. I guess God is really trying to get through to me. I'm a little hard-headed. STOP LAUGHING. Okay, I'm very hard-headed. Goodnight Friends.1 Peter 5:7
New Living Translation (NLT)7 Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
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