out with the old and in with the new

Have you ever gone seven months without running water in your kitchen? We did and it’s totally my fault. Brace yourself, if you know the children’s author, Laura Numeroff and the book If You Give a Mouse a Cookie, my life’s a little like that. 

Back in January, our water froze, like it does every year in the farmhouse kitchen where no matter how much water you trickle or heat tape you apply to the pipes, something always goes sideways and the water freezes. It’s life in the farmhouse. 

And because it’s a farmhouse kitchen, still the way Grandma left it, we lost the water at our kitchen sink and our clothes washer where the dirty, smelly farm clothes go as soon as you enter the kitchen. It wasn’t long before I unhooked the washer and dryer and moved them across the kitchen to wait for a new home in a different room in our house. Because, well, I’d like my kitchen to just be a kitchen. And the only dinnertime music to be what my husband, Bryce, plays on our kitchen speaker rather than the swish and thud of clothes rolling around in the washer and dryer. 

We got to March. Still no water in the kitchen. I had a grand idea. This water was not going to freeze again, we would move the sink or at least remove it while the water was frozen. Which I did with a little help from the men. Now we really didn’t have water in our kitchen! 

Life happened which it does to all of us at some point and what was important today isn’t nearly as important tomorrow. We adjusted our lives to match our waterless kitchen. Gathering water to drink from our daughter’s house and washing dishes in a meat lug. 

It took some time, but in July we had finally saved up enough to have all the old stuff removed. As I’ve been playfully saying, our kitchen was de-modeled. Finally, out with the old and in with the new! 

Jody And The Best Sink Ever

That picture has my new sink and my new faucet! Except that our new always seems to be old. And that’s what makes it so beautiful. This photo looks like just a sink, a faucet, and an old brownstone wall. But it is so much more. 

When I stand at this sink, I am reminded of Grandma and the years she had in this old house. I reflect on what life was like for those who toiled to build it. The faucet reminds me of my mother-in-law. It was in her house, at this faucet, that I helped wash dishes after holiday meals for 30 years. And the sink, it is my dream sink. 

Bryce and I can stand side by side at the sink preparing food. I can fit my whole meat lug in the sink. And all my canners. And a whole deer leg. When we head into the fall, perhaps you’ll get the chance to hear a little of the history on why all that matters so much to me. And now I have water!

But this sink is perfect for me. And it makes me think of my brother Steve. He found me this sink. He labored to remove it from it’s well used location. It’s just a tiny representation of who he is and how giving he has been in our lives. For as long as I can remember, Bryce has always said, “If I ever need anything, no matter what time of day, I know I can call Steve and he’ll help. He’s a give you the shirt off his back kind of guy.” 

My brother’s role in our lives, reminds me of God in the Old Testament. He always knew what His people needed and he provided it. And sometimes what they needed was water. 

Moses led Israel away from the Red Sea into the desert of Shur. For three days they traveled in the desert without finding water. When they came to Marah, they couldn’t drink the water because it tasted bitter. That’s why the place was called Marah. The people complained about Moses by asking, “What are we supposed to drink?” Moses cried out to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a piece of wood. He threw it into the water, and the water became sweet. - Exodus 15:22-25 

 Whether it be something old or something new, God is our provider. Sometimes His provisions come through the grace and love of others. And just like my brownstone, faucet, and sink, they always come with lessons to learn and memories to keep or build. It’s our job to make sure that happens. 

 Searching for wisdom and asking for grace,

Jody

P.S. I didn’t get to brag about my husband’s brother but if you ever get the chance to meet my brother, Steve, and you find Bryce’s brother in the same room, you really should introduce them. They have a lot in common.