A Tale of Two Shingles

I've never lived in a windier part of Iowa than I do now.  The gentle, soothing rains that I experienced growing up seem to be a thing of the past.  I could be wrong.  Maybe my memory is turning selective, but it truly feels like every time we get rain here it involves a thunderstorm and wind, and I mean strong wind!  

So I probably should not have been surprised to see a storm chasing vehicle leaving town just a few days ago.  If you've never spotted one on the road before, they look like a high school shop project gone awry.  Don't get me wrong, those vehicles are high-tech on the inside, but on the outside they are pretty crude and industrial looking, and I guess that is for a good reason.  If you are surrounded by tornado-like high winds you really don't care how stylin' your vehicle looks, your goal is simply to survive.  Luckily on that day there were no tornadoes in our area for them to chase so they were heading west out of town.  

In true central Iowa fashion, however, we did have some very strong winds a week ago (although thankfully not of tornado caliber).  I woke up the next morning and went to get something off the front step when I noticed a shingle laying on the sidewalk by the front door and another one in the front yard.  On further inspection, I saw they had come off the garage.   I was thankful that God had placed them where I would spot them easily.  He knows I can miss the obvious of things on most days.  

Last fall when we joined our church the first people we met were Dick and Paula.  They introduced us to our connection group and have been a tremendous blessing to us in the few short months we have known them by encouraging us and celebrating joys with us.....and it just so happens that Dick owns a roofing business.  

Isn't God awesome?

So Michael called Dick and asked him if he would have time to look at our roof and replace the shingles.  He came over the next day and checked it out.  A few days later he was back putting new shingles on.  

When he was done Michael asked him how much we owed him.  Dick's response, "Just pay it forward." Michael said, "No seriously, what do we owe you for the shingles and labor?"  Dick again repeated, "Nothing, just pay it forward."

So we put some thought into how we wanted to repay his act of kindness.  Dick, Paula, and their family pool resources and help out a struggling family or two at the holidays, so we thought donating some groceries to the local food pantry would be a good deed they would appreciate.  

We excitedly headed to Hy-Vee and did some shopping. We picked up soups, pasta, spaghetti sauce, pizza crust mixes, canned fruits and vegetables, muffin mixes, mac and cheese, hot chocolate mix, some cleaning items, etc.  I know a lot of people don't like to go grocery shopping, but we love it!  We get giddy at checking out a store we have never been in before to see what they might carry that is new to us.  

Yes, we are easily entertained. 

As if we didn't enjoy grocery shopping enough, we discovered it is even more fun when you are shopping for someone else and ended up with 5 sacks of groceries.  The next day we headed to the drop off location.    

When Dick gave us the opportunity to pay it forward not only did we get our roof fixed, we were given the chance to do something for someone else with Dick and Paula in mind.  But we also were able to help out a few families in our area. 

We have never had so much fun "paying" a home repair bill!

God bless Dick & Paula.