Modern Day Barn Raising...

There are men on my roof. Since my husband is disabled and there is no way for him to get on the roof to fix it, several men from our church are here to reroof the entire house. A few years ago, our house was damaged during a severe winter storm. Everytime we've saved enough money to fix the roof, something more pressing has happened and we've never been able to save enough. Our church is reroofing our house. Did I mention how much of a blessing this is for our family?

Gidget, our weiner dog, is the only one who is literally freaking out about this project. She keeps running around the house, barking loudly, and now she is panting so hard. Eventually she'll wear herself out. For now, she is busy being a dog! I hope my ears and nerves can handle her constant barking.

This roofing project is literally a community event. So far, I've counted nearly forty people who have given their time, talents, tools, and trucks. That's amazing! It's been kind of a modern-day barn raising. We've had potlucks, dinners, working parties--you name it. People who are unable to get up on the roof have been here pulling weeds and contributing food. It has been a total community effort.

The PTSD symptoms are creeping back into the picture. With people here all the time and constant extra noise, my husband has no safe place to go. On top of that other stressors have been taking a toll on his health. At times he manages really well, and other times it's all he can do to keep it together. So far, aside from a few outbursts, he has done fairly well.

We feel entirely loved and blessed by the members of our local congregation. The truth is, we don't even know the half of how much effort it has taken to make this new roof a reality.

Thanking God and feeling blessed,
the PTSD Widow