Hope in God's promises for us especially in times of difficulties

It has been quite a week. The recent hail storm that hit Perth caused much damage to cars and property, and our car was not spared. However, we are thankful that we are both safe and our place is still around with electricity available.

The news reported that 7000 homes and businesses were affected by the storm and did not have access to electricity. Western Power was working overtime to address the problems and until today, some homes are still without electricity.

Bluey kept us busy throughout the week and it was quite fustrating getting through to the insurance company as there were thousands trying to contact them as well. We finally managed to get a claim number and had to get Bluey to the repairers to get a quote, which they would then submit to the insurance company. We did not expect to hear that Bluey would very likely be written off by the insurance company because the cost of repairs would come up to around the market value of the car. It took awhile before this piece of news sunk in and we had to accept the fact that bluey would not be around for long and we had to go through the long process of getting another car. Then, we were worried that when my Dad, Irving and Bernie comes, we might not have a car to bring them around. This worry was quickly put to rest when we found out that the insurers would take about a week to get back to us. This gave us some welcome relief, though not for long...

To add on to our troubles, I got a call from the mother of the lady whose car I damaged a month ago saying that she got a quote from the repairers. I thought to myself: "How convenient that she should call me back now." Another headache for me to handle. I remembered Father saying in one of the Lenten sessions that Suffering is there to help us recognise evil. It suddenly dawned upon me to be extra careful when dealing with this lady. It seemed very odd that she took such a long time to call me back, and right after the hailstorm at that... Angie also felt the same way when I told her about it.

Well, at mass on Thursday, which was the Annuciation, Father reminded us to model after Mary, whose obedience and fiat to God comes from the hope she had of God's promises in her life. Her closeness to God through prayer allowed her to have this hope and trust. I know that I have to constantly stay close to God through prayer and like Mary, hope in God's promises for us especially in times of difficulties.

I pray that God will lead us in handling the issue with that lady as well as the inconveniences that would come with dealing with the insurers and getting a new car. I am confident that God will guide and prepare us as throughout this process. Amen.