This is Just a Test, It is Only a Test

I am a firm believer in being tested by G-d.  God tests us on a regular basis to remind us of numerous things including (but not limited to): patience, forgiveness, understanding, compassion, gratefulness, kindness to strangers, etc.  Over the last few months (a little over 3 months), I feel that G-d has been testing our family even more.

On June 30th, we moved our family of 4 to a two bedroom apartment.  This was a test for our family.  We moved from a 1500 square foot house to a much smaller apartment.

On August 8th, we were tested again when we were ready to close on our new house, and found out that due to Mortgage Fraud, there is a law that the current homeowners have to own the house for a minimum of 90 days before they can sell it.  Therefore, we were NOT getting our house yet and had to wait another full month.

On September 7th, we found out that we were not closing at the closing time that we had scheduled and did not know when we would be closing.  On September 8th, we were given a new closing time for that same day.  As I was at the bank getting our money to pay for our new house, we got a call stating that once again, we were not closing on the scheduled closing day.  We now have a new closing day of September 13th.

I have had a couple of breakdowns, we have had numerous fits from children living in the chaos, and we have had numerous deep conversations.  There have been kind words, hugs aplenty, and smiles galore.  The girls have deepened their relationship with their Aunt and Uncle, we have learned to live in a smaller space and be considerate of others around us, and appreciate what we have.  Our patience for each other has increased, while our quantity of things has decreased.  The lessons we have learned from our tests have been immeasurable.

We realize that things are much worse for others we know.  There is a four year old fighting Leukemia, a four year old fighting brain cancer, family friends who had one parent laid off and are living on one income, and so much more.  Our situation is minimal compared to the trials they are living through.  Our thoughts and prayers are with those who are struggling with anything in their life.