Well, Well

Well, well, all is well … now!  However, things were not so well one week ago today.  How suddenly and quickly things can change … and how important it is for us to be flexible and patient … and trusting that our Lord will provide – even when things are not lining up as we had hoped.
 
We arrived at our cottage last Thursday evening around 9:30 p.m.  It was our first trip there since the Fourth of July.  While one would think, myself included, that we would get there more this summer now that I am retired, the opposite has been true.  Thus, this trip was highly anticipated.  The plan was to stay until Monay afternoon.  The weather forecast was excellent.  We would even be hosting some friends for a part of the trip.
 
However, upon our arrival, we discovered that our well was not well.  We had no water pressure.  No water – except for the six one-gallon jugs of city water we keep on hand for making coffee, etc.  That night we used one of the jugs to flush the toilet and then discussed our options as we took a late-night walk to the lake.  I should mention that the water pressure had been suspect over the Fourth of July weekend, coming and going a variety of times.  Though it had always returned, we recognized it was something that we would need to address.  I promised the family it would be resolved by Memorial Day 2024.  Thursday night changed that timeline.
 
Years of church work (and the wise people Jesus put around me) taught me how important due diligence is as one ventures into the unknown.  Since wells are not my expertise, Friday morning started with research going in two directions.  First I went on-line to find information on local well companies.  Then I talked to as many locals as I could to find out what they knew about wells and well companies.  The latter simply revealed that at least two others on our street had had well problems in the past year.  Unfortunately, no other usable information was received. 
 
My on-line search revealed two companies I wanted to contact.  The first one I called just had an answering machine asking me to leave a message.  Without leaving one, I hung up and called the second.  A very pleasant (young?) lady named Carrie answered.  She asked many questions and promised to discuss things with her boss and get back to me.  However, since she did not know when they might be able to help us, I called the first place a second time and left a message.
 
Amid many phone difficulties – never did determine if the problem was on my end or theirs – Carrie had informed me that a) they would not be able to help us before next week, and b) they could not locate our well on the area charts.  I should mention that when my parents bought the cottage in 1975, we had a very shallow well and a pump that was inside the cottage.  A little over 20 years ago we were informed that the government had found our area contaminated by an old gas station and that their Super Fund would be providing us with a new well.  The new well (we were told) was 100 feet deep and came with a submerged pump and a new circuit board that replaced the old fuse box (whenever I mention this I include a “thank you” to all of you – taxpayers who covered 100% of the cost).
 
Our friends arrived Friday afternoon (yes, we had discussed our problem with them before they started their drive).  We played multiple rounds of Euchre and ate dinner at the Spikehorn, and then they left.  We packed back up and hit the road.  We reached our condo a little after midnight.  The well companies were closed for the weekend.
 
Monday, we heard from both well companies with no real progress.  I told the first one I had contacted that I was working with another company but would contact them if needed.  The second said they would keep me updated, but nothing more happened on Monday or Tuesday.  Chrystal, who had replaced Carrie, said they were very busy – it would be the end of the week or the following week when they could help.  With this information I again called the first company and said, “help.”
 
Wednesday morning my phone calls were productive.  Chrystal told me that Carrie’s father had died unexpectedly, and they were struggling.  The other company texted to say they would contact me later in the day.  Before the day was done, the first company had told me our well was well (it is a longer story than this) and I had left a message for Chrystal that our well was well.  This evening we will be driving north for a quiet, but cooler, weekend.
 
We do not know what we will find this evening when we arrive at the cottage, or what the weekend will bring.  The weather is forecasted to be a little cool, but we can handle that.  On Friday morning I will drive over to the well place, meet Will or Dan for the first time, and pay the bill.  Then, God willing, we will relax – with great water pressure – as we had hoped one week earlier.
 
The journey from Egypt to the Promised Land for the Children of Israel was not quite as they expected, but they lived in a very special promise.  So it, also, is with us.  Our life’s journey often times is not as we expect, but we, too, live in this very special promise.  Moses writes of it this way: (The Lord said,) “Thus shall you bless the people of Israel: you shall say to them, ‘The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you; the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.’ So shall you put my name upon the people of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6.22-27)
 
You are getting this a little late today because the battery on my laptop died while I was attempting to finish my writing away from home.  Yet, even in spite of this … Well, well, all is well … and not just with me, but for all who live in this promise (known as the Aaronic Blessing).