Since this has happened twice in the past week or so, I felt it was worthy of at least a cup of coffee.
I recently had an opportunity to move to a wonderful small town in Nebraska. The house I moved into came with some problems, however, and I have spent the past month addressing them. One of the challenges is the landlady who lives in Colorado, but her kind-hearted brother and his wife live here in town. Guess who helped address some of the most critical issues with the property? Yep. The sweet couple who live down the block.
So why did I end up with such a challenging landlord? It requires me to dust off the legal side of myself and start a detailed file on this situation, because I have the feeling this is the type of person who will keep the security deposit whether she’s entitled to it or not.
I was talking with the couple who had helped me the other day, and when I said that sometimes God will put you in a difficult situation because that is what is necessary to get you where you need to end up, I noticed it kind of resonated in a special kind of way, almost as if I were speaking a truth I really needed to pay attention to. I did tell the brother’s wife that I saw the situation as a kind of blessing because taking this place led me to them.
They also have rentals in this town, you see, but they actually keep them up. They shower them with love and tender care. So now I will pray that one of their properties comes open in the next six months. For now, I need to gather myself and rest a bit, but I’m definitely leaving most of my boxes packed!
This house and the landlady are a huge problem, but it is the hand I’ve been dealt for now, and except for the challenging dance I will have to do for the next few months, I am enjoying the energy here. The peace, and the quiet are nurturing my spirit.
As I struggle to get the house into a marginally livable condition as it wasn’t cleaned before I moved in and the carpet was filthy, the landlady – eager to get some work done for free, now I can see – offered to allow me to borrow a carpet cleaning machine her son could drop off. (The house had been smoked in too, despite the assertion by the owner that all was move-in ready. But what the heck, she lives in Colorado!)
He left me the machine and I started to use it to clean the stained, filthy carpets which I was told had already been cleaned twice with this very machine. After the second or third tank of water, the spraying function on the machine quit. Oh, crap. This lady is the kind that will sue for a new machine, I just know it.
So, to the phone book I went. If there were repairs to do, then I’m going to be the one to get it done, so I know what the actual cost is. I found two places in the nearest larger town, and called the first one. He said he could accept it in for repairs, but that he would have to send it out, and that could take a week or so. I was relieved that it could be repaired, at least. I have a feeling that the heavy dirt clogged the line where the water comes out, but when I looked at the machine, I could not see how I could unclog it. Besides it’s not my machine, otherwise I would probably have tried to fix it myself.
When I started to get the very faint, subtle sense that I am now beginning to recognize as my upgraded “follow” signal, I paid attention to it. I had the hit to call the manufacturers direct customer service line, so I did. I got the same two places from them. After I hung up from that conversation, I called the other number just to make sure my bases were properly covered.
This fellow could look at the machine as well, and could take it in for repair without sending it out. I got that faint signal again, so I followed it. I put the machine in the car and drove to the larger town. I explained what had happened, and he said he’d let me know what it would cost – and laughed that it would certainly be less than the cost of a new machine! (I’d told him what I figured would happen if I didn’t get it fixed before I returned it.)
Turns out, this is the guy the first shop sends their stuff out to be fixed!
I expressed how grateful I was that he could fix it, and that this seemed to be a signal that my challenging times were coming to an end and that it had been a tough year for me. He said it had been for him, as well. He’d lost his wife a year ago, and his daughter is now going through a divorce.
Note to self, here: no matter how hard your life is, someone else certainly has it rougher.
I can’t explain exactly how it happened, but we were soon in a conversation the depth of which one normally doesn’t have with, well, basically a stranger. The details of that conversation don’t need to be shared here – this morning coffee is already too long – but it only ended when the mail man came in the store to deliver the mail.
As I left that shop, I knew that one of the reasons I needed to follow the signals I was getting from my guides, from my guidance, was so I could end up standing in front of that man and having that conversation.
Two “problems”. Two blessings. Where either situation will end up, well, only time will tell. For now, I choose to count my blessings, and to give thanks for the honor of being able to be a blessing to someone else, as well. Have a glorious day. I know I will.
All original material posted to this site is (c) 2013, Julie Marie. All rights reserved.
Photo credit: Wikipedia
