Rationing?

AED · Sep 18, 2026 at 7:16 PM

PurpleFlower said: ↑

This has been our experience too! The process of moving, and then getting here, were filled with just about every imaginable thing going wrong. We were so severely tested I was afraid for our marriage at one point, and we even put our home on the market a few months after moving in. Shoot, we even tried to back out at the last second before we even moved in...thinking we could no longer afford it because of how many things had gone wrong requiring extra money. We went to an apartment complex near our church and had decided to move there and just go to daily Mass and forget the country idea... There were a few rooms open and when we got there, the lady at the desk took one look at us, glanced at her computer, looked back and said flatly, "We have nothing for you." We were so shocked that we all just stared at each other, could think of nothing to say, and then finally got up and walked back to our car. My husband and I looked at each other and we were just like, "Ok God. I guess we're still going to the country." Lol.

Imagine the sad surprise when we found out our well water is so full of iron we have to spend hundreds of dollars a year to filter it so it doesn't turn our sinks and toilets bright orange. The water I thought was going to be the pristine fresh water that we could pump straight into our hands for drinking no matter what terrible times come lol. Then imagine the horror when we realized those mounds of dirt everywhere that we thought were from cows were actually gopher mounds....and the gophers would end up sucking down every single tomato plant I planted that first year straight into the ground. Then the first spring a terrible storm came and blew entirely over the huge 100 year old elm tree I loved--the only source of shade in our backyard area. I had chosen where to place our home based on that tree.

I got two kittens to be outdoor mousers and accidentally ran one over just trying to pull my van forward a few feet into the carport because rain was coming. My husband was gone at the time and I had to watch my beloved kitten die in front of me. I had to give the other one away because my dog that I bought to protect it wouldnt stop putting it in his mouth.

Then my husband had mental breakdowns and got most of the way through building the chicken coop only to never be able to finish it. We had to get rid of the dog and chickens because we were almost out of money and had to put the house on the market. We had the house on the market for a few months and no one put any offers on it. I was crying nearly daily because I loved my home and really didn't want to leave. I was so confused, trying so hard to trust, battling fears as very scary storms kept pelting us one after another.... Then I became pregnant and my husband decided to keep the house so we pulled it off the market. We were scraping by. Then I lost the baby. My sister and I prayed together every night to get pregnant again (she had her only miscarriage a few months before that) and she was pregnant again a month after we began praying. I didn't get pregnant again until halfway through her pregnancy and then lost that one as well. One week before I lost my baby, a stray pregnant cat we took in and fell in love with died along with one of her kittens.

So many graces came during all of that. My dad came back to the Faith. My sisters got married properly in the Church. My brother-in-law converted to Catholicism. My children all announced calls to religious life. My brother came back to the Faith and pursued a call to the priesthood. My marriage grew leaps and bounds and is very strong now. My husband learned surrender to God and then got promoted twice, so we can afford our home. I grew in trust and lost a lot of my previous fears. We have both lost A LOT of our taste for the things of this world and feel a healthy detachment from what we thought would bring happiness but is only passing. Our hearts are more open and easily led. Our prayer lives are deeper.

I still don't know for sure why God led us out here, but I no longer question it. God knows what He's doing and He'll continue to do it. We're here to know, love and serve Him in this world and be happy with Him in the next!
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Wow. What a beautiful testament. You've tested in a real crucible and all that suffering brought huge graces. I loved reading this. Thank you for sharing it. When we were young and finding our way some similar things happened. I was a stay at home mom and money was so tight. Horrible real estate issues. But God pulled us through and had such good things awaiting us. He told me " remember this" when He tied everything up neatly after I had bitterly complained to him. Now I trust although it isn't always easy I know He has us in His hand and " no one who trusted in Him was disappointed". He just has His own timeline.

PurpleFlower · Sep 18, 2026 at 7:32 PM

AED said: ↑

Wow. What a beautiful testament. You've tested in a real crucible and all that suffering brought huge graces. I loved reading this. Thank you for sharing it. When we were young and finding our way some similar things happened. I was a stay at home mom and money was so tight. Horrible real estate issues. But God pulled us through and had such good things awaiting us. He told me " remember this" when He tied everything up neatly after I had bitterly complained to him. Now I trust although it isn't always easy I know He has us in His hand and " no one who trusted in Him was disappointed". He just has His own timeline.
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Yes! And the best fruits are produced from strong roots that grew during the stormy days!

Mario · Sep 18, 2026 at 10:07 PM

PurpleFlower said: ↑

...So many graces came during all of that. My dad came back to the Faith. My sisters got married properly in the Church. My brother-in-law converted to Catholicism. My children all announced calls to religious life. My brother came back to the Faith and pursued a call to the priesthood. My marriage grew leaps and bounds and is very strong now. My husband learned surrender to God and then got promoted twice, so we can afford our home. I grew in trust and lost a lot of my previous fears. We have both lost A LOT of our taste for the things of this world and feel a healthy detachment from what we thought would bring happiness but is only passing. Our hearts are more open and easily led. Our prayer lives are deeper.

I still don't know for sure why God led us out here, but I no longer question it. God knows what He's doing and He'll continue to do it. We're here to know, love and serve Him in this world and be happy with Him in the next!
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Your trying scenario reminds me of a children's rhyme:

There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile,
He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;
He bought a crooked cat which caught a crooked mouse,
And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

The difference with you, PF, is that your family's crooked mile was ordained by God!

I pray your house isn't crooked.

Mario · Sep 18, 2026 at 11:35 PM

PurpleFlower said: ↑

So many graces came during all of that. My dad came back to the Faith. My sisters got married properly in the Church. My brother-in-law converted to Catholicism. My children all announced calls to religious life. My brother came back to the Faith and pursued a call to the priesthood. My marriage grew leaps and bounds and is very strong now. My husband learned surrender to God and then got promoted twice, so we can afford our home. I grew in trust and lost a lot of my previous fears. We have both lost A LOT of our taste for the things of this world and feel a healthy detachment from what we thought would bring happiness but is only passing. Our hearts are more open and easily led. Our prayer lives are deeper.

I still don't know for sure why God led us out here, but I no longer question it. God knows what He's doing and He'll continue to do it. We're here to know, love and serve Him in this world and be happy with Him in the next!
Click to expand...

Your trying scenario reminds me of a children's rhyme: There was a Crooked Man.

padraig · Sep 19, 2026 at 6:35 AM

That must have been incredible that time Mother Teresa of Calcutta walked into the slums on her own for the first time.

Such incredible Faith!

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