Tuesday morning, July 30th, I woke at my usual 5:30ish. My normal routine is to tend to the needs of Ruby’s continual feed, make a cup of coffee and snuggle in my chair to spend time with the Lord while watching Ruby sleep.

As I slid my feet into my slippers, my eyes opened wide – my slippers were drenched! My instant thought was that Ruby’s feed bag had ruptured in the night…which, of course, made no sense since her feed through the night is about 2 cups and wouldn’t even begin to drench my slippers! Besides the feed bag was on the other side of the bed.

I stood up and instantly realized the small rug at the foot of my bed was not just wet but squishy soaked! Still in denial I looked around at the feed bag and saw that the floor was completely flooded! Flooded to the point that the water was measurable and rippling from my feet walking toward the feed bag!!

What in the world?

My mind was reeling and so I sloshed through the water to my bedroom door wondering if one of the kids had been sleep walking and turned on the tub (which is on the other side of the wall). Although I don’t have any sleep walkers, it was the only thing that came to mind. As I opened the bedroom door, gracious me – water was everywhere and I could hear the loudest gushing sound!

I peered in the hall bath door and the tub faucet was not on at all. At that moment, as panic was beginning to set in….I remembered that there are two valves in the front courtyard right outside my front door. I sloshed my way to the front door and going outside I hurriedly turned the valves off.

Running back into the house I could still hear the gushing! What in the world? Shutting off those two valves had done nothing. Now I was starting to panic because I had no clue what else to turn off.

I opened Elijah’s bedroom door. He popped up on his bunk and said, “What’s up?” (I have to say I was pretty impressed at his instant response and especially for just after 5:30am!)

Urgently I told him that the house was flooding and there was water gushing from somewhere and I needed his help to find where it was coming from. He was instantly down from his bunk and we sloshed our way toward the laundry room (which is across from my bedroom and next to his room). Sure enough the gushing was from there and the laundry room was also filled with water!

He couldn’t figure it out either because although the gushing sound was loud, it was impossible to see the water gushing.

I grabbed my cell phone and at 5:37am I called my dear friend, Monica. She and her husband, Dan, live two minutes away from me and the kids. Dan is an elder at my church, they have a 39 year old son with special needs and they are the couple who lead the Parent Connect (the ministry to Parents with treasures with Special Needs). They are precious people and Dan also happens, by God’s grace, to be a plumber who has his own business!! Oh the goodness of God!

With Monica on speaker she guessed it was the hot water tank and helped Elijah find the valve (which was way over my head – I probably would never have seen it!) and with Elijah closing the valve the gushing stopped.

Elijah helped me find as many towels and blankets as we tried to soak up as much water as we could. He is a hard worker and such a blessing! But as it turns out we didn’t own enough of anything to soak it all up!

By 6:15ish Dan was already over at the house, trying to shop vac up water…and at that point Dan and I discovered the water had been running out into the garage and it was partially flooded!

Dan confirmed that the hot water tank had “exploded” (his word, not mine). So now., as I understand it, the tank, having exploded, still thought it needed to keep filling and continued trying to fill but since it had exploded it just kept flooding my home.

I was on the phone with the insurance claims person (who by the way, was so kind, thank you Jamal!) by 6:30am and Dan was searching his contacts to find a water restoration company.

When Dan was leaving he prayed with Ruby and I…specifically asking that the water restoration company be a group that would be a blessing to me and watch out for me.

All I can say is – Dan’s prayers were answered greatly! The first young man who arrived at my front door …well, the second I saw him my first thought was, “He must know Jesus. His face just exuded a peace that can only come from Christ!” (And he does!)

In the midst of the mess, the Lord was making His kindness known to my soul!

Soon other young men on the restoration team arrived – such an incredibly kind bunch of young guys. And so easy to joke around with!

The owner of the company came and seeing my Ruby, Jubilee, and Birdie told me that they are starting a special needs ministry at his church and asked if his sister could call me about it. He actually commented, “This is a divine appointment!” He couldn’t have been more accurate!

It was soon discovered that the water had actually run out my bedroom french doors and onto the back veranda and having gone out at least six feet in all directions as the bricks had been saturated.

After the asbestos testing came back, they have been tearing out the buckled oak and LVP flooring, and now with the baseboards gone have been able to determine that the studs were saturated with water at least two feet up. So they will be cutting the dry wall up two feet to start.

Although they thought it would be best for the kids and I to move to a hotel, with all of Ruby’s medical equipment it sounded too overwhelming to this mama, so we are staying put.

But the Lord’s hand has truly been obvious in it all, starting with Monica who also was up doing her Bible study, had her cell phone in front of her and although on silent it facing up so she saw my call.

There are so many Memorial Box stories already in this flooding situation already….I’m wondering what I should put in my Memorial Box specifically to remember the day the hot water tank exploded.

Any ideas? Please help me think of something!

PS. And although life might surprise us (and personally I may even need to “catch my breath”)…I am purposed to live each day by I Thessalonians 5:18 – “In EVERYTHING give thanks…for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”

Part 2 Coming soon.