How on Earth have I managed to blow up two vacuum cleaners in less than 12 months??? OK the first one was kind of my fault. I didn't clean it out enough but I didn't realize the machine was so "high maintenance" until it was too late. However, I still haven't figured out what happened to the second one. I was just vacuuming and as I was about finished with the entire house the piece where the filter fits in on the side literally fell off onto my breakfast room rug...leaving behind remnants of melted plastic on the rug! I have NO IDEA why it melted off but I was SO irritated to have to buy another vacuum.
The first vacuum cleaner I LOVED! It was compact and light weight and had amazing suction! I was really sad when it bit the dust :) Not only was I upset because this vacuum made my cleaning endeavors easier but also because the timing was terrible. It quit working the week before the adoption fundraiser/yard sale we had back in April. A time when we became totally focused on saving and raising money for our adoption. A vacuum cleaner wasn't in the budget...and still isn't. So imagine how excited I was when the day before the yard sale my sweet neighbor shows up with a bunch of items to donate and one of them was a perfectly working vacuum.
At the time I was grateful but didn't see the significance of "a need" being met at just the right time. The most recent vacuum cleaner fatality that occurred at the Polk house was last week, the day before we were set to leave for "home" on the coast. We had a precious missionary coming to stay in our home and I wanted to make sure everything was spotless for her. This was the day my "new to me" hand me down vacuum cleaner melted to pieces. But I didn't let it get me down. :) We have tried to remain focused on glorifying God throughout this process and trust that because we've remained faithful in giving to others, He will continue to provide for us. If I let myself dwell on the money it would take to buy a new vacuum, I'd have gotten really mad! You see, buying cleaning equipment irritates me as much as buying tires! If I'm going to spend hundreds of dollars on something, it should at the very least help somebody OR be pretty or shiny or fun or have a high heel :) A machine that sucks up dirt doesn't fit any part of that description!
We had a great visit at "home" with family and friends. We capped off the week by saying good bye (for now) to some very dear friends that are moving across the country...three time zones away...to California. Luckily, they will be "behind" us so Amy and I can still have our 9 am chats only it'll be 6 am her time:) You know that feeling you get in your stomach when you know you are about to have to do something you really don't want to but you have to...well when I walked up to their "seminary sale" Saturday morning to say "goodbye" that's the sensation I had in my gut. So how awesome is it that to ease the sadness of the situation, there was a vacuum cleaner sitting there waiting for a new home? :) After a tearful goodbye, I drove off in my "mommyvan" with my "new to me" vacuum cleaner sitting in the back. And then it dawned on me...God did it again! I have now needed a vacuum cleaner TWO times since this adoption started and without asking around or putting any effort at all into finding a cheap enough machine to get by until we are operating on a "normal budget" again, God has met that need. Significant? Not really...unless you consider $500 will pay for a home study review fee, or Registration fee, or Post-Placement fee, or two Visa's, or a Russian Medical Exam, or both boy's passport's, or 50 documents to be apostilled, or half our USCIS fee, or half of a round trip flight to Russia, or half of our "gift" to the orphanage...OR a vacuum cleaner.
God reminds me daily every $500 or $50 or $5 we save or raise is significant in this process. And if we are faithful to continue supporting other ministry, even when it's very tempting to focus all of our resources on the work we've been called to right now, He will be faithful in providing for us. NOW do you see why I'm so excited about a used vacuum cleaner? :) Phil. 4:12
Happy Monday!
Happy Monday!
Girl ~ He is showing me this very thing right now! It's not about YOU... it's about how God can use you to bless others. SO... that is why, in our time of need, we are blessing you through this adoption. How is the best way to give? Can you send me deets through FB or e-mail?
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