Last summer, my husband, Chris, and I began working on yard improvements in preparation for putting our house up for sale.
As we surveyed our backyard projects, we noticed our above-ground pool required several costly repairs. After spending a few days weighing the pros and cons of keeping the pool, we decided to remove it.
Chris and our 21-year-old daughter made the pool removal look easy. Within one week, they had broken it down and hauled it from the yard. The hard part would be filling the large, crater-type, hole in our sloped backyard. Even if we could find massive quantities of fill-dirt at a reasonable price, getting the dirt into the yard could be a logistic and financial nightmare.
I felt panicked every time I looked out my back door. I couldn’t imagine anyone wanting to buy a house with a large hole behind it, and given our limited resources, I had no idea how we could fix it.
Even after calling our friends and family for advice, we were no closer to a solution.
In despair and frustration, I plopped down on our living room couch, with tear stained cheeks, and cried out to God.
“Lord, we need your help. We know you will take care of our needs, and right now we need dirt. Could you please give us free dirt and deliver it to our backyard, or could you give us the extra resources to get the hole filled? I don’t know how you are going to do it, but I am trusting you will help us.”
As I chose to leave the pool issue in God’s hands, his peace washed over me, soothing my frantic soul. I didn’t know when or how God would provide the solution, but I believed I could trust him.
Fast forward to March 15th.
Chris and I were in the living room talking about an issue concerning our children. Then suddenly, I felt a strong urge to have him call a local pool business to see if they had any extra dirt left over from a pool installation. We knew getting their assistance would be a longshot since the company couldn’t help us the previous year, but we figured it was worth a try.
What is the worst they could say? No.
To our surprise, not only did the pool company say, “yes,” to having dirt, but they were willing to deliver it to our house for free.
Later the next evening, we had 3 dump trucks worth of dirt in our backyard. Plus, the company offered to bring us more loads if we needed them.
God answered our prayers, but it was tough waiting for almost a year. I remember feeling discouraged last winter. I was hoping to have our pool hole filled in before the first snow, but God gave us a divine delay.
During those times when God allows us to wait, it is easy to grow angry and bitter, convinced he is ignoring us or refusing our request. We can look at our situation and believe the worst about him. We might mistake him for an uncaring taskmaster who is looking to withhold his blessings from us.
I have learned, through years of reading my Bible and allowing God to speak to my heart, that God wants good for all of us. He hears every prayer we send to him. He hurts when we choose our own path and have to suffer the consequences of our poor choices. He doesn’t like seeing other people hurt us. God wants to bless his children because he is a good and loving father.
Rather than growing cynical, we chose to believe God was working behind the scenes on our behalf, and he would bring our solution in his timing. We trusted his character and love for us.
As it turned out, God’s timing was perfect. Tilling, moving, and leveling dirt is hard work. We have spent the last 3 weeks working on our massive dirt pile, and we will need another truckload of soil to finish the project. Our schedules were really hectic last summer and fall. If we had started filling the hole back then, we wouldn’t have had the energy or time to complete the task.
I am so glad God gave us what we needed, rather than what we thought we wanted.
Crystal that was very well spoken. It was spoken in a way that people with challenges could understand it, so thank you. You’re a very blessed writer.