Faithful Friday: A Fruity Family

It's always our luck that whenever we're saving for something, a higher priority comes in the picture. 

If I haven't mentioned it yet, we're planning a trip to Florida this summer. We haven't been since 2008.  Our first and last beach vacation with Austin.  There's a post or two to come about that in the future, I'm sure.  I'm still processing...searching...healing, and yet, we are looking forward to time with the family in the sand and sun.

Enter center stage, our dilapidated central air unit.

It's coughed, hiccuped and sputtered the past couple years.  We've dug our heels, slapped band-aids on it, and said many prayers.  This year, we were fearful we'd have to take the ugly, deep plunge and buy a new one.  Even though our checkbook was frantically shaking its head, "NO!"

But my hubby, ever the optimist these days, persisted.  He puttered and tinkered, and with the help of a handful of A/C friends, we have our fingers crossed it'll survive the season.  And we're hoping for forgiving summer weather!  Yea right, we live in Kentucky...

In the meantime, we'll get into a more serious savings mode for what we know will inevitably come.  Budgets will be adjusted, shoestrings will be tightened.  We told the kids to prepare to spend a lot of time at the beach this summer, because after all, once we get there that attraction is free!

My mother summed it up best and put life into perspective with a great response to my whining.  "This will be our time for new FAMILY memories!! We don't need to spend a lot to be filled full of love and laughter!! So instead of eating out, we will have fun in the kitchen cooking together!! Playing games instead of seeing whatever...soaking up Gods sunshine and beauty!"

We're blessed that she's able to go with us this year.  Our first time together on the beach, as well as Tina's first-ever trip to see the ocean.  Perspective.  There's always blessings in the bumps.
It'll all work out...  

Between my mother's wise words and my hubby's uncharacteristically calm temperament through this chaos, I had to smile.  They were teaching me JOY.  They were showing me growing fruits of their own.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes... John 15:2

It wasn't too long ago that Tim might've shown his rising blood pressure when he'd tried for the fourteenth time to get the unit going but again failed.  He might not have been the caring voice this week, reminding me it was going to be ok when it was a sticky 20 degrees hotter in the house than outside.  He might not have been the first to remind me to take our concerns together in prayer.  Subtle, yet powerful changes. 
God gifts.  One budding fruit at a time...