Mud puddles in the living room

Everyday when I get off school, it's like a mad dash to be able to call this place or that place to arrange this or that before they close- and most of them do at 5:00. I'm getting married in less than three months and there are many arrangements to be made. BUT I'm in school all day, so I have like and hour and a half to get it all done. Busy as a Bee.

So today I make my usual "mom" calls. I have two really, my mom, and then my stepmom, Mrs. J. They are tag teamin' it to get this thing put together by May 22! I call em to get the latest news and find out if they have promised someone I'll be somewhere at a certain time... so today I chat with my mama for a while, then try to get Mrs. J. on the phone and I can't. No big deal, I think, so I try to call Ash, my sis/ maid of honor (as she likes to be referred to) Finally Ash calls me back and I ask how she's doing and she says to me, "jess, jess, jess... you are not going to believe what i woke up to this morning." And she's right, i have no clue what she's about to say.. for some crazy reason i thought she was going to say there was a boy beneath her window serenading her with songs on his guitar confessing his undying love.. no joke, i really did think that.. go figure... anyway, I was way off. She says, "I woke up to dad and Mrs. J screaming, I stepped out of my room, and there an inch of water on the floor. (she is in an upstairs bedroom) She thought she was dreaming.. She says she walked down stairs and there were waterfalls streaming from the light fixtures, from all the vents, from the places where the walls met the ceilings. She opened up the laundry room and a sock came floating past her.

The upstairs toilet had overflowed during the night (nobody had used it or anything, it just for some reason, decided to start running) and it ran all night long until my dad stepped out of bed at 5:45 and felt soggy carpet beneath his feet.

Can you imagine? I mean, I am still in shock. I mean, it definately could have been worse. There could have been a fire or something, and it isn't like anyone was hurt... I haven't seen it yet, but when ashley told me about it, i teared up. I mean, my house is ruined. Pictures on the wall are gone, all the carpet, all the furniture is wet, everthing. She said she walked into the living room and there were big bubbles on the wall. The water had caused the paint to separate from the wall and water was collecting inside. They called the insurance people and a couple of hours later a guy came with a big wet vac that held 70 gallons. Ash said he stuck it in one place on the living room floor and had to empty it out after 30 minutes. That's some serious water. She said it's like a hurricane in there right now cause they have 24 fans going and 6 big heaters trying to dry the place out. Unbelievable.

I think it is easy to live an "all about me" lifestyle. It's easy for me to anyway. Especially right now while I've got all this planning going on for my wedding. But today was kinda a shock. It isn't all about me. It never is. And it isn't about stuff. Stuff crinkles and molds when its wet. It's no good to store up treasure here. No good at all. You never know what's going to happen..you can't ever predict. I guess I want to tell myself, don't invest in pretty pictures to hang on the wall or rugs to decorate the floor.. invest in shaping pretty hearts and lives, pretty souls that decorate the indestructable walls of heaven. There, moth and rust and running toilet water have no place. Praise the Lord there is more than what we see...