I’ve been silent lately because truly words have fallen short.
My last post was on Jan. 26. Two days before that was when my pipe burst…20 days ago. For 20 days, THE121 has sat dry. Here in the mountains of Pennsylvania, the winter has been BRUTAL. Temps well below average including multiple days of negatives…
I sat with some friends last week with tears streaming down my face.
I. Am. Tired.
Literal survival mode had taken its toll.
The next morning a text came through from a good friend.
A warm house, family away. Come.
I took the gift.
Gratitude.
So I’ve been able to rest this week away. To regain my strength.
Please pray with me as friends come on Saturday with the hopes of fixing the broken pipe in warmer temperatures.
During the sitting with friends, our task was to write a name of God and pray around that name for our situation.
The name I wrote down was
El Roi
The God who sees.
He has indeed seen me. My distress. My discomfort. My cries.
He has seen me. I have seen Him.
Such a loving and gracious Father in the midst of one of the hardest times at THE121.
Tucked in tight enjoying the gift of a warm home with water 💧.
Saturday morning I woke up to start my generator (like always) and NOTHING. No start.
No start =‘s no power (off grid living).
I phoned my amazing neighbor who suggested I bring it inside to let it warm up.
I hauled my 100+ pound generator from the back 40, up my stairs and into THE121.
After a conversation with the Lord, I hauled the generator back down the stairs, back to its outside dwelling and sure enough…she started!
I had been wanting to make a shelter for the generator for some time and figured with the storm coming, Saturday was THE DAY.
I have a friend who says “before you go shopping for supplies, shop at home first.” Brilliant quote.
I remembered that I had some leftover 2 inch foam board under my house and some leftover insulation tape. I pulled it out and got to work.
Beautiful? No.
Worked? Yes!
As I was putting the left over foam board under my house, I noticed some water dripping.
Water dripping UNDER THE HOUSE!
I inhaled deeply.
Exhaled deeply.
Sure enough…I opened my intake box and a water pipe had broken.
I phoned my generator guy who is also my plumbing guy. He arrived very quickly. I HIGHLY recommend him. I told him, I felt like I was hemorrhaging and he was there to save my life.
Long story short. There was no save.
On Saturday afternoon my 500 gallon water supply was emptied on Teaberry acres.
Of course, here in my neck of the woods it’s been single digits and lower. Fixes like this, can’t happen on a tiny house until the weather is above freezing.
And so…where does this leave this tiny house girl?
Grateful.
Grateful that my generator “just happened” to not start Saturday morning. I have ZERO doubt that I would not have been under the house had I not been building a snow shelter for my generator.
I am grateful that the water went outside not INSIDE my house.
I am grateful we got 13 inches of snow because now I have a LOT of water supply right out my front door!
When will I get running water back?
Only God knows that answer.
Until then…
You’ll find me collecting snow and boiling it 🙂
Disclaimer: MANY kind friends have offered shelter and showers. I truly am Ok!
Stay tuned for more stories and adventures which may or may not include several men at a hardware store and one tiny house girl…
The snow crunches under my feet…the pines stand still with white dust covering their half there branches.
It’s quiet here in winter and perhaps that’s why winter might be my favorite. The stillness beckons me to rest.
Here at THE121, my bedroom is on the main floor (which by the way was a must for me with all those bathroom trips!) and resembles a cave tucked into the end of the tall ceilings under Maggie Marie’s room. I’ve been told by guests who have stayed in my absence that it’s the best sleep they have ever had.
And so, at night, I rest. I rest hard in the silence of the woods, in my cave bedroom, here in the winter.
Until the silence is interrupted.
Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.
When the batteries that power THE121 run low, the inverter sends out loud beeps to notify me that my powers about to go out unless I do something about it.
Turn on the generator.
At 2am.
This is off grid living. Sometimes I have to give up things to get things.
We all do.
I give up convenience to save on money.
As the silence was interrupted at 2am, I had time to talk to the Lord. And what a picture He gave me.
Most of us live our lives doing our thing without much thought, until our lives are interrupted.
If you’ve been following you know that I’ve had several major surgeries that have quite literally interrupted my life. And yet…it has been in those interruptions that some of my deepest soul work has been done.
The Lord is doing a deep work in my heart and I am choosing today to be thankful for the interruptions which force me to the hard.
Tiny House Girl 