this old house-part 2 ( no grumbling)

We moved into 2305 St. Anthony St. nineteen years ago; searching for a big place in a downtown neighborhood,we found this old house-the kids all fit, and then John began teaching in the neighborhood school eight blocks from home.
So, our girls and boys grew up-neighbors have come, gone, remained-and there are memories here. . .

One morning last spring I was enjoying coffee and conversation with a woman in my sunny livingroom when the mailman knocked and delivered two certified letters from the city's code compliance office, letters listing two pages of repairs which we needed to make on this old house-and within 30 days! - required. . .not optional. Paint, paint, paint, trash, cracked windows, front porch repair, more paint . . .we appealed and the officer gave us more time to make the repairs-required. . .not optional.

I've discovered that struggles in my heart are first born as thoughts zipping through my mind:
What right do they have?. . .we pay our taxes! . . . have they looked at the other houses in the neighborhood? . . . no money for paint. . .trash you say? that's not trash, just fallen tree limbs! . . .and the neighborhood children-my husband has invested years.

my mind droned on. . .while the children of Israel "grumbled in their tents" against God, I was grumbling in this old house against God. . . and forgetting God's instructions to me, for my good, "Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God and those which exist are established by God" (Romans 13)

So, the repairs are progressing-the house looks good! And last month, the code compliance folks made another visit, this time the complaint concerns our backyard deck cover, take it down or repair it-required, not optional. . .and really, it's not about my house, it's about my heart, about God drawing me, convicting and changing me into the likeness of his Son, and he's using this old house in the process.