JRaitz

From Monday Morning on Facebook

Before I head out today...I just wanted to write a quick note to say how thankful I am. To be brutally honest, I am a prideful...arrogant...& stubborn guy. I don't like to ask for help and I am having a hard time processing all the help that we getting.

All that being said...I am just so thankful for our community. Our family, our co-workers, our church, our neighborhood, our friends, and the many people who are praying for us and care for us. The reality of all this has set it. The last couple of days it almost felt like a dream and we would wake up and be able to go home and get in our pajama's, put the kids to bed and watch an episode or two of the office. (I shouldn't be sad I lost all 4 seasons of the Office, but I am?!)

But, today I meet with the insurance people, see if we will be approved to rent a house in the same neighborhood (thanks for praying for that) and start figuring out all the financial stuff. We will have some insurance money coming, but it turns out I didn't have a very high amount of coverage. When I sent up our renters insurance I didn't know what to get...I do now. All that being said, I am so grateful and thankful we will have something coming.

It's just amazing to process when you start thinking of putting back together 11 years of marriage and 4 kids worth of stuff. Now...it's just stuff and we care most about our family. We just keep telling ourselves that...it's just stuff. And...we really didn't have that much stuff anyway.

We are staying in our very dear friends basement...Scott & Lynette Rubin. Would you pray for them? Pray for rest? Pray that all this hospitality would come back to them 10 fold? I can't even begin to describe how I feel about them. They are a huge blessing and we love them.

We walked through a rental house yesterday that would be perfect for our family...so we will see today or tomorrow if the people will approve us. I think they will because they want to help, but who knows. It's really nice and has a lot of space and I find myself feeling bad that it's so nice. Not sure why. I need to figure out things like security deposit and stuff like that today.

There are so many amazing stories to share, and I will in the weeks to come. We believe God's fingerprints are all over this. Like neighborhood kids sending our kids their Christmas money and friends going to to the store to buy us clothes. But, I wanted to share one today that blows me away.

A very good friend and prayer partner of mine sat down with his family and asked what they could do to help us. He told them that my 6 year really missed his nintendo DS. Well, his jr. high boy went up to his room, carefully packed up his DS and brought it down and said he wanted to send it to bobby. I cry as I type that. I told Bobby about it and he's been asking when does the mail come each hour. Coincidentally, he doesn't think it's fair that there is no mail delivery on MLK day.

One last overwhelming feeling. People by the dozens have been stopping by or sending cash or gift cards to us. There is even an account set up. Again, so hard to believe that people would send financial help. I can't even believe that kind of generosity...it blows us away! It's so hard to accept them and on the other hand they are so helpful.

If you do want to help, in any way, email me and I can point you to someone on our team. We have someone who is organizing clothes, furniture and money gifts. jraitz@willowcreek.org.

Thank you from the Raitz family....Jason, Tracie, Bekah, Bobby, Zach & Madison.

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