Ever have days or weeks that leave you wondering if the floor will drop out from under you, or the sun will scorch you the next time you step outside? We had one last week. On Monday, my wife asked me if we had been undergoing an ‘inordinate amount’ of trials and challenges recently. My answer: “Nah.”

By Friday, I had changed my mind.

Monday – We got news that my 80+ year-old father-in-law hurt himself in the garage, and my mother-in-law couldn’t help him. He cut his head open, and he’s on Coumadin (which thins your blood and makes you bleed easily). It took my sister-in-law (the closest person to them) to drive over, get him to the hospital, and be checked out by the doctors.

Tuesday – the small leak in our basement from a possible bathroom pipe now becomes a puddle and a stream. After each shower, toilet, or sink usage in the main bath, sponges and towels need to be applied to clean it all up. Plumber called.

Also, I get a ‘past due’ bill on a charge that was paid for back in March, but the company cannot figure out how or where. I am left to call voice mails and write letters (again) to tell them I will not pay (again).

Wednesday – The plumber rips out a section of wall from floor to ceiling in the kitchen to get to the 78 year-old main outflow pipe coming from the bathroom upstairs. House is a mess, but pipe is replaced and problem repaired.

I also discover that night that at the bank we were transferring all our money away from to a second bank, they accepted some electronic withdrawals I missed in my preparation of the switch, resulting in charges of $200+. Up till after midnight re-checking all finances for any other loopholes missed.

Thursday – the 55 year-old upstairs toilet seal was broken in the process of fixing the main pipe, so now it’s leaking into the kitchen as well. Another call to the plumber.

Friday – I step barefooted onto a rusty nail that was missed in the clean up after the fixing of the pipes.

By Saturday, I just wanted to lie in bed and stare at the ceiling. What a week. And that’s not including the normal litany of teenage arguments, family meetings, soccer and ballet practices, and the normal chaotic behaviors of family life.

In the midst of this, I was exploring in my time with Jesus how God was not only my Creator, but my sustainer as well. Psalm 18: “Your right hand sustains me”. He is both creator and sustainer, and his gifts are even bigger in scope than we realize. Hebrews 1:3b: “He sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command.” What’s that phrase about doing something with one hand tied behind my back? I found the weight and worry of my situation was reduced by the reminder of just how powerful, providing, and loving the Lord truly is. God’s power to provide is incredible.

I also reflected on the ‘gifts’ we often receive from God. Do you realize that everything in our lives is a gift from the Father—even the things we don’t want and didn’t ask for? Yes, that the minutia of contests like broken plumbing pipes or foot injuries. As part of my exercises, I made a list of things I am thankful or grateful for. Most of them were positive experiences, relationship, or characteristics. Only a few were situations that in the onset induced great pain before eventually becoming more stable and developmental. Injuries, relational hurts, or deeply felt losses were for the most part not on the list.

What does that say in terms of how we view what we’re thankful for – especially if those very things were items God used to draw us close to Him, to expose our rogue state of hearts, to reveal his tremendous grace in an even more startling way? My guess is that we often receive “gifts” that might come disguised as problems, crises, or accidents—despite our impulse response to deflect, minimize, or avoid it.

While I wish those things on nobody, can we arrive at a state where, as these events intrude upon us, and as we course through them, we can be content and at peace?

Can we be in a state where we can rest in the presence of the Lord, come hell or, in my case, high water?