There by the grace of God go I...

That's what I heard my husband saying under his breath last evening. It was a beautiful Sunday afternoon and it started like most do. Sundays are restful for us. My husband usually takes a nap or works on a project outside. Working outside is rest to my husband. It's not the normal computer hustle and bustle or family activities running here and there. Working outside on whatever he feels like doing is restful so that's what he did. When we purchased this 1/3 of an acre in town with 18 oaks on it we were so pleased. Really nice shade and very attractive. As time has worn on the cons to having oaks have presented themselves. They lose many branches each year and drop leaves like it's nobody's business. So last year we removed 3. We are the do -it-yourself variety. Why pay somebody to do something you can figure out your self? "Brute, force and ignorance!" was long ago declared a motto by my very funny husband.

We are planning to put in a woodstove so we thought we would thin some close to the house and cut up the wood for firewood. The plan is to leave the strongest and most attractive where they are. My husband decided yesterday that it would be a good day to take out 2 more trees. These 2 have been bugging him for awhile. They lean and sway over the side of the house where the kids sleep and it makes us nervous everytime there is a windstorm.

Down came the first one. Look how nice that is. Success. One down and one more to go. It went exactly where it was supposed to. But do you notice that other tree there to the left? The one with the wheelbarrow just at it's base? You can't tell by looking but that one there is a troublemaker. (Ignore the kids playing in the doghouse on the right. That's a whole 'nother post.) Well my sister-in-law came by and she loves being involved in outside happenings including tree falling. She and my husband decided to take out the second one and that's when the drama began. It happened so fast really. The cut was made and within a few minutes I heard my husband yell something. I ran to the backdoor and looked out. My 6 foot man was pushing on the 50' tree yelling "The wind came up and I think it's going to hit the house! Call someone! Anyone! Call my brother! Wake the kids and get out!" In a panic I called my brother-in-law and asked him to come Speedy Gonzales style. I took the kids barefoot and coatless and headed away. My husband told me he would call when it was resolved. I called another sister-in-law for moral support. She asked if we had insurance. I said oh yes but I'm pretty sure it doesn't cover ignorance. Comic relief to cope. I drove around, got the kids snacks and prayed and prayed and prayed. About an hour later I headed back still having no word and worried about everyone.

This is the site that I was greeted with. It happened just moments before we arrived. There were neighbors everywhere and cars filling the cul-de-sac in front of our house. Oh yeah then there was the tree protruding from our fence between the house and shop. My brother-in-law was rather enjoying the whole thing happy to recount the tale as my husband was still trying to recover from the experience. During the ordeal all of the neighbors had come home from here or there and my sister-in-law's husband had joined the crew. Thanks to him the new cut had been made, the tree tied off and our house saved.

If you'll notice, that tree there is laying next to it's stump. Well it wasn't supposed to fall that way. Nope, it was intended to fall to the right AWAY from the house the same direction as the first tree. You can probably tell from the cut that it should have fallen perpendicular from where it did. I was told that as it started to fall towards the corner of the house that because of the tie off it rolled in the air completely missing the corner of the house and also just missing the big tree to the right.

Look at that! Looking at the stump I think how did that not hit the house? Even the amount of damage is minimal. Only 4 fence boards and 2 cross beams need to be replaced. The fence post set in concrete that the trunk is laying next to is completely unscathed. Truly amazing show of God's grace if you ask me.

There is my amazing man who goes through his life by the grace of God. He is always doing things that don't seem like they should work. He is the first to admit the amount of grace in his life. He often wakes from dreams with solutions to problems around the house. I do think he will recover by the time we have to take out the next 3 trees. He is already working on a trade for some help from a tree faller. Did I mention that he is clever too?

We had missed church yesterday due to some kiddos with colds. We may have missed church but I will tell you that we did not miss an encounter with God himself. He met with us up close and personal, took something impossible and made it possible. We know where the credit is due.

There by the grace of God go I. Isn't that truth for all us?