A matter of perspective...

Lately you might say Tim and I have been experiencing some bad luck. We’ve run into a number of frustrating and sometimes exacerbating situations. Here’s a brief list of what has happened to us the past 2 months:

- our rental car was broken into while in Aruba and our laptop, camera, all camera accessories, Tim’s wallet, his ipod and a specialized camera bag he got for Christmas was stolen
- our fridge freezer died, we lost a lot of food and the fridge was on its last legs
- someone showed up looking for $$ in unpaid cable bills which our landlord was supposed to be paying since it’s included in our rent
- the internet died, we called the cable company, they said there was nothing wrong with it, they set up an appointment for us to get it fixed A WEEK LATER; we called two more times to make sure that the cable hadn’t been turned off, they said no; called them the day before the scheduled appointment to find out when they were coming, they told us that the appointment had been canceled and that our cable had been turned off the previous week….
- Tim got Norwalk at work and had to take 2 days off
- I found our car dead in the garage the day Tim got Norwalk, when I went out to get him some chicken noodle soup
- my application to the Canadian Alliance of Physiotherapists for the written portion of my licensing exam was suspended after our VISA was declined; had to get a money order and pay a 50$ charge for the declined card to the Alliance
- our landlord hadn’t received the rent from January and wanted us to send it again, although our bank clearly said that the money had gone through
- my desktop crashed
- my gramma had a heart attack and spent almost a month in hospital

It has been a frustrating experience, but we have been learning a lot through it all. I’ve learned that you can dwell on the crappy things that have happened, or you can try to make the best of them. Because really, when it all comes down to it, God is looking after thngs and it will work out in some way or another in the end…..For instance:

- We had the opportunity to be in Aruba in the first place, and thankfully our insurance company will replace everything that was stolen
- We got a new fridge from the deal that actually keeps ice cream frozen!!! :)
- The internet eventually got fixed, it had all been a misunderstanding due to the incompetence of a new trainee at the cable company (stupid Cogeco); the downside is that since this incident our router has not been working well at all; keeps kicking off our computers and re-setting itself randomly
- Tim has a job!
- I was able to call CAA and get the car jumped, and got a new battery with a 6 year warranty in the process
- I got to spend 2 whole days hanging out with Tim, while he was home sick with Norwalk
- I got the application in to the CAP on time, and that’s really all that matters
- The lost rent money was found! It had been put in a different account than our landlord normally puts the $$ into
- My computer is ancient, so maybe now I’ll get a cool new computer!
- Gramma is feeling much better and was sent home! She’s so pleased to be home, and we’re praying for a swift and full recovery

So when it all comes down to it, everything is a matter of perspective. It hasn’t been an easy month, but I’ve been learning to try and see what good might come out of a situation and then trust that things will work out in the long run. It’s a hard lesson to learn, and believe me, I’m still learning. But thankfully, things usually work out ok. :)