It’s been over a week ago since we were battling water in our home and we had to move out. We’ve had busy days of trying to figure out what the new “normal” is for us, which seems to be an important thing since it’s going to be a little while before we move back in. A week brings perspective, so I wanted to scratch out just a few reflections in light of what I look forward to describing to my grandchildren as “the flood of aught 10”. Here’s the thing, though: All these statements should be taken with a grain of salt, because even though we’re displaced, we are nowhere nearly as bad off as a tremendous amount of the city of Nashville.

Having said that, here’s some thoughts:

1. Time does indeed bring perspective. When you’re shop vaccing the water out of your life for hours on end, you never think tomorrow will come. But it will.

2. In the end, stuff really is only “stuff.”

3. Home is where you love people, and where you know you are loved.

4. It’s very, very difficult to accept help even when you’re in need.

5. Every experience in life is a ripe opportunity for the Lord to carry you on in the process of “becoming.” And there is tremendous value in every experience in asking the question, “What does the Lord want us to become as a result of this?”

6. Water, the basic necessity of life, can do incredible damage if it’s not channeled to its appropriate use. So can pretty much anything else in creation (sex, food, work, leisure, fill in the blank).

7. The gospel is a constant reminder that we’re going to be okay.

8. Human relationships are the means by which the invisible and intangible love and grace of God becomes visible and tangible.

9. A moment of crisis is a chance for a father to lay claim to the reality that this is what he was born for.

10. Crisis is also a tremendous chance for the church to be who she is supposed to be in the city where she is supposed to be.

11. Nothing in all creation takes God by surprise, and because it doesn’t, He provides grace for the challenges of each and every day.

12. There is no situation in my life that cannot be brightened by the love of my wife, the dazzling smile of my little girl, the creative heart of my son, and the gurgling chuckle of our baby.