focused on Glory (sentimental notions)

My parents had a NASTY surprise this week. There was a swarm of termites in the garage. The creepy critters were covering the wall shared with the living room. A call to Terminex summoned a technician who treated the obvious bugs. He scheduled a follow-up for further treatment. 

The termites had a different schedule. They decided to take action before the follow-up appointment. My mother woke up Monday morning and discovered a swarm covering the wall INSIDE the living room. When she turned on the light, hundreds of termites began buzzing the light fixture. They were EVERYWHERE, and it was CREEPY! They were sprayed and swatted until few were left moving.

My sister and I helped take pictures and clean up, and another- more urgent- call was placed to Terminex. The technician arrived, looked at the pictures and a few of the dead insects, and reassured us that they were subterranean termites. He gave us a good education on the this particular type of bug and told us the ones in the house were swarmers and died not long after getting in.  The next several hours were spent with two gentlemen drilling in the garage and digging a trench around the house. They treated the soil under and around Mom & Dad's house. (We also learned that the colony could be as far as 100 yards away under a neighbor's house!) We were lucky to have caught this before much structural damage.

Unfortunately the wall between the living room and garage has to be replaced. This is such a disappointment but not because of any inconvenience during reconstruction. The disappointment comes from a sentimental place. Our kids have been measured against the garage wall for the past eight years. We can see their physical growth as charted on that wall. Now the wall is going to be torn out, and my heart is a bit sad.

The alternative is to have an unsafe living environment, and that isn't acceptable. The best decision is to take down the wall. 

I think God works like this our lives sometimes. There are things we cling to, even things that seem innocent and harmless. If those things do anything to keep us from drawing close to God, then they are hiding a dark secret that eats away at our relationship with Him. If that is the case the wall separating us must come down, and a stronger union can be established.

 I will miss the wall, but maybe we can start a new tradition with the new wall. The pictures I have are from my Olympus P&S. There is nothing dynamic about these photos. They represent the sweetness of watching my kids as they have grown. We are so blessed to have such good kids in our family. Thank you Father for such favors.

(The names look messy because the pencil markings were written over with pen.)

As always, stop by Jennifer's BLOG for great information and encouragement.