Tornado News...Four Months Later

I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken... Psalm 37:25 NIV

Four months today...On last month's anniversary date I confidently planned to have a positive news filled report on month four.  Sadly, things are pretty much the same. We are nearing approval of a floor plan so the back and forth dance between the builder (what it will actually cost to build) and insurance (what they think it can be low-balled at) can begin.  We have an experienced builder who will not be a pushover so that will hopefully work in our favor. It sure would be a blessing if this back and forth can move quickly so we can at least apply for a building permit and get a start date in view. Contents insurance news is much the same.  We have an appointment next Monday to begin going over the many items they changed to different lesser value items before the depreciation.  We are fairly confident this will be resolved in our favor.

Honestly, it is very discouraging to still be in a holding pattern when spring has arrived and we see (with joy) others beginning to make real progress.  Spring will be difficult as we long for coffee on the porch watching the yard/garden come to life.
We are trying hard to find and focus the positive.  Since that awful November day we have enjoyed the blessing of becoming much better connected with neighbors (some we knew/some we didn't). We also found out today that we were approved for a generous grant from a large credit union in Chicago that will help with some of the financial shortfall. That is a blessing for sure.

Maybe (said with significantly less confidence) we will be able to surprise everyone with a super positive report on month five. Until then we continue to trust (sometimes impatiently) in God's perfect timing and can always say with utmost confidence that "we have never seen the righteous forsaken".