The Money Pit
Who remembers the 1986 Tom Hanks' movie? If you do, you have an idea of how home ownership has been lately for us.
As I get older I realize I date myself with some of the pop culture references I utilize. Sometimes, it doesn’t matter because the references are ubiquitous like Star Wars, Marvel, and more. And then there is when I call back to a 1986 comedy starring Tom Hanks, The Money Pit. Do you know it? It has Tom Hanks! Apparently no one younger than me remembers it, but I watched it on HBO when I was younger idling home alone.
The Money Pit chronicles Tom Hanks’ character as he, and his wife, deal with repair after repair in their new home. Here’s a clip from it.
This year, well, I’ve felt like Tom Hanks’ character at times. Part of it comes with the territory of “adulting” and being a homeowner. However, it seems like a lot of things have hit this year.
First there was the floor drain that backed up by our washer and dryer. That left behind fun smells and sediment.
Our minivan needs a new steering rod and other repairs to stop an oil leak.
The bathtub diverter, so the shower can run, broke and leaked water into the basement. The boys bathroom didn’t have a shower for part of the summer. They used Jana and I’s bathroom shower, and *of course* waited patiently
In August our dryer would run but not kick out any heat. I spent at least eight hours trying to repair it, replacing a part, and cleaning out the dryer ducts, but the dryer still does not heat up.
Then the kitchen sink starts to back up. Jana spends hours taking apart the pipes to unclog it. We buy an auger to help the process. Nothing
The air conditioner starts leaking in the cellar.
Some of the outside trim is peeling and showing wear and tear.
Our lawn mower isn’t starting.
Oh yeah, there is Jana’s severed thumb tendon early in the year. There is covid going through our family a few weeks ago when some of this happens.
Then the emotional kicker.
It was a few Sundays ago. I just finished talking to an individual who was sleeping outside the church under a tree. I receive a text from Jana informing me she found a bed bug on one of the boys’ mattresses. She is at home because one of our boys tested positive for covid. I didn’t know what to do. I am exhausted by the thought of another bill. Jana feels the same. By the time I get home from church three mattresses and a box spring are in the backyard. School starts for the boys that week, and I’m not sure what to do or how we are going to make it.
That afternoon, I take the family to Medieval Putt and I go back to the house to “bug bomb” it. I then go back to my family and we hang out playing miniature golf.
Early on in the week I am not sure how we are going to make it. I spend part of one day considering employment elsewhere, but stopped after a few hours. When I pray they are simple prayers. “God, help us!”
Having bed bugs in your home is a weird feeling. I’m not sure where I picked up on it during my life, but initially I am afraid to say anything about it. “What might people think when they hear we have bed bugs?” (Even writing it here makes me a tad anxious.) I share with a few people so they can pray, and everyone understands. They all have experienced it in some fashion and know the plight we are entering. It helps normalize the experience for me. With all the comings and goings from our house, all the scouting and camping, all the various environments and individuals we engage with, who knows how we got them.
The bed bug treatment will be two separate treatments that all together cost $750. To prepare for this we need to move furniture, items, and clothes so the treatment can happen effectively. One thing to help is use your dryer’s high heat to kill any bugs in sheets, clothes, and more. Well, we didn’t have a functioning dryer at the time so it hindered the process.
The week this all peaked? OPS starts back to school. I am driving Liam and Gideon to and from school. It is stressful and I have to remind myself to take things one day at a time. It’s a cliche, but I need to remind myself or else I think I will be overwhelmed.
On Thursday, August 18, I am driving home after picking up Liam from cross country practice. I get a call from a couple at the church. One of their parents is no longer driving and they own a 2002 minivan. They talked to Jana a few weeks earlier and found out we are a one car family. They ask me if we would like this minivan…for free. Yes indeed! Did I mention that this day was also Jana’s birthday? Let the emotional roller coaster begin.
The new vehicle is a huge blessing. Still, in the aftermath I did pray something like, “God, I am grateful for the new vehicle…but we still have these bills and repairs that need to be addressed. How are we going to do that? What’s the plan here?”
The following Sunday the minivan is brought to church for us. I meet the couple’s parent and thank them profusely. They ask for a hug. “Of course!” Then they ask to meet Jana so I run off to get her. I pull Jana from a conversation with a different couple at the church. As we walk away Jana tells me the couple she was talking to is giving us a washer and dryer. She’s crying. I’m dumbfounded.
Witnessing this is our boys. I had a recent conversation with one of them when they asked about us getting a new car. I replied, “God usually takes care of that for us.” I am not trying to be glib. It’s something I have seen time and again. When I say this to adults a number of them often roll their eyes and tell me to be serious. Jana and I have owned four cars. Three of them have been given to us. (The fourth was bought from my uncle at a good price.) Now, four cars have been given to us throughout our marriage. “God usually takes care of that for us.”
It’s not only the car, but the washer and dryer being given to us as well. The bed bug treatment? One Hope helps us out with that. I start to see a light at the end of the tunnel.
The boys see God coming through in different ways via different people. They see the church being the church the way God intends. The boys have heard me discuss walking away from previous jobs over principles and sacrificing income because of it.
One job I had I was receiving $90,000 a year in salary and benefits when I resigned. That seems foolish to a lot of people to walk away from, but I am not willing to sacrifice my family. I did not believe in the trajectory it was on at the time and what some leaders were asking me to do to stay there at the cost of my family. Was it hard to walk away? It was a difficult process, but it became clear in the end. Do I regret walking away? Never. No workplace is perfect, and we all need provision to make it in this world, but I am glad to be where I am.
Money is important, and I definitely feel that when everything is seemingly falling apart around me, but when we see God provide it reinvigorates my faith. It increases their faith. I am grateful for the journey we are on as a family. I am grateful my boys can see God provide in tangible ways and see the good in humanity when people help us. I am grateful I can be present with my boys a lot more than I would be able to if I stayed at some of my previous positions. I am grateful to be working in an environment that aligns with God’s desire to “love our neighbors as we love ourselves”. I may not be able to buy the latest iPhone or game consoles for my boys, but that is okay. Our vehicles aren’t impressing anyone either. (As one of Liam’s cross country teammates said to me about our minivan, “This is old.”)
Working at a non-profit and raising support isn’t easy. There are times where things are tight financially, and I worry about how the work I believe I’m called to do might adversely affect them. However, being present with my family, and seeing my boys’ faith and worldview grow throughout this journey, is priceless.
So where are we now? Well, we still need to get three new mattresses. We haven’t priced those out yet since we wanted to get through the bed bug treatments first. Earlier in the year Liam and Duncan got new mattresses, and they had no signs of bugs on theirs, so we don’t need to replace them all. Just three. That’s the biggest need.
I’ve been sleeping on a living room couch for a few weeks now. It’s not too bad, except when our cat, Max, decides to jump on me at three in the morning because she wants attention.
Our old van, which is actually a newer van (2010 vs 2002) but still is older to us, has ongoing maintenance needs. The steering rod issue was repaired during the summer, and we were blessed to have someone cover fifty percent of the bill. Last week, a spark plug issue came up. Mechanic recommended a full diagnostic check to see if there is a bigger issue. We haven’t repaired it yet, but it is drivable. It’s just herky-jerky at times due to the spark plugs. There is the increased fuel and insurance expense with a second vehicle as well, but we are grateful to have a second minivan!
We paid for a plumbing service to come out and fix the kitchen sink and shower diverter issue. Those are running fine now.
We are almost at that point in the calendar where we don’t need to run the air conditioner. It will need to be serviced, but hopefully we can delay that a bit. The lawn mower? We patched it up and we should be good until next year. The outside trim will need to be addressed though
We have been blessed with so much throughout this process. As I mentioned, we still have financial needs. One Hope Family pays me a monthly stipend, but I still need to raise my support to make ends meet. You can make a tax-deductible donation by clicking here and selecting my name from the drop down menu. If you prefer Venmo you can click here to give directly to my account.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support! Thanks for reading. God bless.
