That Sinking Feeling: Part 1: Dry Wells

             It was a peaceful enough winter morning. The frost lay thick on the grass as I headed out the door to my substitute teacher assignment at Lincoln Elementary. I passed some strawberry fields and watched the sprinklers circling as they sprayed the fields with water to keep the crop from perishing in the cold.

            I had kindergarten today and knew it would be a busy one. At noon, I was sitting in the faculty lounge resting a bit when I overheard a teacher at the next table.

            “My well! It just ran dry! It’s not a good sign.”

            “Why is it a bad sign?” Asked the teacher sitting next to her.

            “Because…the ground may not be able to take it.  All the ground water is being pumped out into the fields. Why do you think we have so many lakes here?”

            They both laughed at this thought as I sat puzzled by her distressed remarks.

            “Well, I don’t have a well.” I thought to myself. “I have city water and I am far from a strawberry field. It doesn’t affect me.” Then, I started eating my lunch and didn’t hear the rest of the conversation.

            A few days later I saw the flashing lights of a fire truck one street over in my neighborhood and yellow crime tape going up. But it was not because an illegal act had taken place. A huge hole had swallowed my neighbor’s front yard. However, the house was miraculously still standing. A few houses down, in direct alignment with ours, another one was completely cracked up and looked like a jumble of concrete blocks. It was warped so badly that it was taken apart and hauled away. Sinkhole activity had caused all this damage.

            I didn’t think about it much anymore until a few months later I heard a knock at my front door. It was a man named Steve Gliesen. He told us they were checking for more possible sinkhole activity in the neighborhood and wanted to test to see if there were any problems with our house. We both agreed they could do it.

            Two and one half years later we are still waiting. We have the results. There's definitely a sinkhole problem under our property. But no pay-out has happened yet.

             We agreed about three years ago that we were seriously planning to go to Germany and join our son Bobby, his wife, Maria and our four grandchildren. We had been preparing for this when the sinkhole crisis hit. We have had four tests. Three have come back positive.
              Meanwhile, our house is cracking up. Lines are appearing every where. Zigzag patterns pop up in the concrete walls and doors won't latch. We live in peril of it collapsing every day. And yet, still no response from our insurance company. We have now hired a lawyer. Still, there’s been a delay as the negotiations drag on.

            Yes, we could be settling out of court on this any day. Yes, we still plan on moving to Germany when it goes through. Yes, we are both being laid off for the summer so we must get the money soon…But we’re still waiting. It’s all in God’s hands. His timing is absolutely perfect. He knows what He’s doing with us.

            And we know that all things work together for the good of them that love the Lord, to them that are called according to his purpose. Romans 8:28.

            Hopefully, it will be soon…