On Sunday we said, "Take greed to the cross and let Jesus detach who you are from what you do or do not have."  It is one thing to preach it on Sunday and another thing to live it on Monday. 

Monday evening I walked down to our basement to discover somewhere between Sunday night and then our sump pump had quit.  O, yes, it was wonderful! 

The company extracting the water said, "Wow!  This is the most water we have ever extracted from a house whose sump pump quit working just the night before." 
"Well, thank you sir," I thought to myself, "Where do I pick up my prize?"

When I first saw the water, I thought, "O, no, what a mess!"  But then I heard God whisper, "Aren't you glad who you are is not attached to what you have?"  

"OK…OK…Lord, I get it, but, Lord, how do I live it?"

Immediately God brought two things to my mind that pretty much apply to every sump pump failure surprise of life:  Perspective and gratitude. 

On my way up the steps to share the news with Kimberly, I began to gain perspective...you see, I know a lot of families and individuals who wish a basement flood was the worst thing they had to deal with. As I was cleaning up the mess, I kept thinking of folks I know who are really struggling.  I thought about families who have a loved one fighting cancer. I thought about a family who just had the funeral of their 15 year old niece. I thought of single mom who has left behind her old life and is now learning to trust God one day at a time in her new life and it is anything but easy.  I thought of a man who has been out of work for two years. I thought of the reality that 30,000 children died from starvation while my basement was flooded.  I thought of 27 million people in the US and around the world who are held captive to human trafficking.   
Pretty soon, I was not just thinking about these people in need, I was praying for them.  I admit, like some of you perhaps, I struggle to maintain perspective some times, especially when basements get flooded.  But, God is faithful and he is always present and willing to turn our perspective to him and others if we will let him.  And his perspective on things changes everything.

The next day as I wrote in my prayer journal and I began to thank God for all he gave me during this unexpected hassle. Kimberly and I have not fought through this, but simply worked together, talked and even laughed as we cleaned out the basement.  What a gift!  (You know a few years ago, I would have been a bear to deal with this and would have made it hard on her. Friends, if God can change me, he can change any body.)  I began to thank God for a wife who is not all wrapped up in material things.  I thanked God for a trustworthy company to do the water mitigation. I thanked God for my dad who, though he did not give me his fix-it genes, volunteered to help me install a new sump pump.  I thanked God for knowing our needs before we know what they are--just last week Kimberly received a bonus check from work which ended up taking care of our deductible.  And get this I have a whole lot more to be thankful for than what has to do with our basement.  

Perspective and gratitude are gifts from God that loosen the grip of greed in our lives.  What does God use to detach who you are from what you do or do not have in your life?  I would value hearing your story.