Kristena Tunstall

  • Home
  • Bible Study Quiet Time
    • Jen Hatmaker
      • A Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study
  • Speaking/Webinars
  • Our Daughter’s Hospital Story
  • Blog
Kristena Tunstall > My Writing > In The Moment > Loss… Then Blessings Abound… #believer #blessings #beyondgrateful

Posted on June 21, 2020 By Kristena Tunstall

Loss… Then Blessings Abound… #believer #blessings #beyondgrateful

OMG (Oh My Goodness)… Find the joy through the tragedy is, I believe, imperative. It’s this one thing that allows us to find the hope in every situation, and some times things look pretty darn stark.

In every life, we have our own set of “darkest days” we have to live through. No two people on the face of the planet go through the exact same set of dark days because each and every person on the face of the planet is simply different. Even identical twins, triplets, quads, and so on, have been scientifically studied many times over. All research has concluded that they may have the same gene print, but they are in no way the same person. Each one has their own set of experiences, which ultimately shapes who they are and who they become throughout their life.

I can say the same thing when it comes to Keith and I as a married couple. We are in no way the same kind of person. He’s a man. I’m a woman. He turned 49 in February. I will turn 47 in August. He didn’t have any type of abuse growing up as a child. I had severe, significant abuse, abandonment, and neglect. I could go on, but my point I hope has been made that no one is alike.

However, we are similar in our belief system and our moral compass. I thank the Good Lord all those years ago when He put Keith and I into each other’s lives. Were we living as Christians should live? Nope. We were both active duty in the U.S. Army. The reality was drinking, sex, and other things. I will be the first to say that I’m in no way a perfect human being, nor will I ever be. However, God had already laid out the plan for both of our lives and placed us in each others. We’d only be dating 7 months when we decided to get married.

Imagine having all those around you that are your friends and those you work with telling you that they only see your marriage lasting 6 months. It’s a good thing, Keith and I didn’t listen to all the negativity around us because we’ve now been married for 26 years.

Loss. Only Child. Mari.

I think back on July 1 to 16 of 2008, and the absolute beyond nightmare that Keith and I lived through became a defining moment in our lives. I’d never realized before Mari’s death just how much one event in someone’s life like this can literally change who someone is as a person. I even wrote a poem called “I Died.” It starts off by saying, “The day I died is a day I will never forget. There was nothing but emptiness and what seemed like utter despair.” I go on to talk about how I died the day Mariana died. That Kristena literally no longer exists. A new Kristena we reborn, just like a baby, and had to learn how to continue living each and every day without my beloved Baby Girl. For Keith, it was the same for him as well. Losing Mari was like nothing we’d ever seen or experienced, and quite frankly, would never again, at least not how it was with Mari. The loss of our only child began an entirely new phase in our lives, and we had no clue how to move forward.

I can now say without hesitation that the only way both of us did was our strong faith and love in our Lord Jesus Christ. During this time, He wrapped His ever-loving arms around us and gave us the strength we needed as we had none.

Flood. Stark. Catastrophic.

Then May 19, 2020, comes and a whole new stark, catastrophic tragedy bestowed upon us. At 2:30am on Tuesday, May 19, our daughter Athena (biologically our niece) comes to us, urgent and freaking out, that there was water in our basement. At that time, there were about 6 to 8 inches everywhere in our completely finished basement. By the time it hit the highest level around 5am to 6am timeframe, it was almost 4 feet high. Between all our personal belongings and the loss to our house itself, the money is at least $125,000.

Sump Pump Coverage.

Those little addendums that you add to your homeowner’s policy to help cover things that don’t fall under items like fire, tornado, and different ones like that. We were straight-up told that even if we had flood insurance, the flood insurance would NOT have kicked in. The sump pump coverage addendum is the only coverage that provided anything. Here’s the kicker – a maximum, which covers all property & all personal belongs, is only $10,000. Our hearts sank when we found this out. Just to get the basement waterproofed and all the cracks fixed, especially the ones that were never treated behind all the finished walls, and getting an upgraded sump pump to a ¾ horsepower, is almost $7k. The brand new hot water heater we had to get because the flood-damaged our beyond repair, was $2400 as we had to get a tankless one so we could have it installed about 5 feet off the ground. Just with those two items, we only have $600. 😔

Fortunately, through the blessings of the Lord, the GoFundMe campaign we set up to raise a goal of $30k, we have raised $3510, and through the Facebook fundraiser, we’ve raised $190, for a total of both of $3700. That’s 12.3% of what our goal is. To be honest, that’s not bad, and we are very grateful as it’s $3700 more than we had before. 🤗 We hope to continue to raise more, God-willing, but we’re at least happy for what we have received as it’s been huge for us. (Here’s the link to the GoFundMe fundraiser if you’d like to help or if you’d please share it with those that you know. GoFundMe – Active Duty Family – Catastrophic Flood.)

Blessings. Hope. Joy.

If you noticed, I didn’t say happy or happiness. That’s simply fleeting. It comes and goes like the tide but is never constant. However, blessing, hope, and joy – they can be if you allow them to.

Yesterday, I feel like God rained down some more blessings on us, giving more hope and joy as a result.

I’m a highly organized individual, which can drive my poor hubby mad sometimes. 🤪 Well, I found a small plastic storage bin with a lid on that held many pictures, negatives from all the photos I took of Mari when she was little, me being pregnant and other moments. I never realized that water could literally destroy negatives and turn the pictures on them into nothing but ink. Many of these pictures were damage so bad that either you could only see things like bodies, but no heads or they were just completely illegible where could tell what the pictures were.

Here is the unbelievable, joyous blessing: I had 11 Kodak picture CDs. Guess what!!! They all worked!!! When I cleaned off the first one and put it into my computer to see if I could still access the pictures after almost 20 years, every last picture was accessible. It literally started to cry – the happy tears kind. The beyond grateful kind. The simply joyous kind. I was literally praising God at that moment that he bestowed upon us all 11 CDs. Yes, unfortunately, many pictures are ruin or fairly damaged. But I’m going to be able to reprint off every single picture on all these CDs for at least these pictures. There are over 250 of them. Halleluiah!!! I’ll post a link to a shared folder if you’d like to see them all. I’m just beyond words to truly express how grateful Keith and I are that we have these. (Pictures in Shared Folder)

What times of joy have you had in your life? Would you be willing to share some of your experiences where you just felt the Lord working and knew He was blessing your life? I’d love to hear them.

Kristena Tunstall
 

Blessings... Seeing Through Catastrophic Loss #blessing

June 15, 2020 Kristena Tunstall 0
Catastrophe. That’s quite a word. It’s the epitomy of a word trying to describe the worst of a circumstance and even with this word it’s still not enough to truly explain the loss. Flood, almost 4 feet deep = Catastrophe. The catastrophic nature of what happened back on May 19…

signature
Post Views: 3,386

Related

Site Archives

  • ►2020 (6)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (1)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2019 (1)
    • ►March (1)
  • ►2018 (4)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►July (2)
  • ►2017 (15)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►March (4)
  • ►2016 (11)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►February (9)
  • ►2015 (22)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (5)
    • ►October (3)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (3)
    • ►January (5)
  • ►2014 (221)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (6)
    • ►October (4)
    • ►September (3)
    • ►August (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (28)
    • ►May (15)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (34)
    • ►February (30)
    • ►January (35)
  • ►2013 (346)
    • ►December (34)
    • ►November (28)
    • ►October (50)
    • ►September (53)
    • ►August (22)
    • ►June (11)
    • ►May (31)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (31)
    • ►February (28)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2012 (82)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►August (11)
    • ►July (15)
    • ►June (9)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (3)
    • ►March (11)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2011 (46)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (9)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (6)
    • ►February (7)
    • ►January (19)
  • ►2010 (43)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (2)
    • ►September (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (12)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (2)
    • ►March (3)
    • ►February (5)
    • ►January (3)
  • ►2009 (49)
    • ►December (5)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►July (2)
    • ►June (1)
    • ►May (4)
    • ►April (7)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (10)
  • ►2008 (34)
    • ►December (11)
    • ►November (15)
    • ►October (8)
  • Facebook
  • Google+
  • Twitter
My Tweets
Follow @MommysAngelHeav
  • Archives
  • Categories
  • Tags
Archives
  • ►2020 (6)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (1)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2019 (1)
    • ►March (1)
  • ►2018 (4)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►July (2)
  • ►2017 (15)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►March (4)
  • ►2016 (11)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►February (9)
  • ►2015 (22)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (5)
    • ►October (3)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (3)
    • ►January (5)
  • ►2014 (221)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (6)
    • ►October (4)
    • ►September (3)
    • ►August (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (28)
    • ►May (15)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (34)
    • ►February (30)
    • ►January (35)
  • ►2013 (346)
    • ►December (34)
    • ►November (28)
    • ►October (50)
    • ►September (53)
    • ►August (22)
    • ►June (11)
    • ►May (31)
    • ►April (56)
    • ►March (31)
    • ►February (28)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2012 (82)
    • ►December (6)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►August (11)
    • ►July (15)
    • ►June (9)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (3)
    • ►March (11)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (2)
  • ►2011 (46)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►June (3)
    • ►May (9)
    • ►April (1)
    • ►March (6)
    • ►February (7)
    • ►January (19)
  • ►2010 (43)
    • ►December (1)
    • ►November (1)
    • ►October (2)
    • ►September (1)
    • ►July (3)
    • ►June (12)
    • ►May (10)
    • ►April (2)
    • ►March (3)
    • ►February (5)
    • ►January (3)
  • ►2009 (49)
    • ►December (5)
    • ►November (2)
    • ►October (1)
    • ►September (4)
    • ►July (2)
    • ►June (1)
    • ►May (4)
    • ►April (7)
    • ►March (4)
    • ►February (9)
    • ►January (10)
  • ►2008 (34)
    • ►December (11)
    • ►November (15)
    • ►October (8)
Categories
  • ►About Books… (22)
    • ►Book – The Unknown Door (3)
    • ►Book Reviews (5)
    • ►Featured Books (14)
  • ►Announcements (2)
  • ▼Featured Posts (8)
    • We Miss Her So Much...
    • Touching Souls Bereavement Photography
    • A Day in the Life of a Grieving Mommy
    • A Scholarship Program in Mari's Honor
    • Mari's Special Video
    • Billy Graham and My Life
    • #2020 - Looking Back
    • Loss… Then Blessings Abound… #believer #blessings #beyondgrateful
  • ►Holidays (39)
    • ►4th of July (5)
    • ►Birthdays (6)
    • ►Christmas (6)
    • ►Easter (1)
    • ►Father’s Day (1)
    • ►Memorial Day (1)
    • ►Mother’s Day (4)
    • ►New Year’s (2)
    • ►Tax Time (1)
    • ►Thanksgiving (4)
    • ►Valentine’s Day (1)
    • ►Wedding Anniversary (6)
  • ►Interviews (2)
  • ►Miscellaneous (1)
  • ►Miscellaneous (6)
    • ►VotD (1)
  • ►Mommys Angel in Heaven (246)
    • ►Featured Posts mommys (2)
    • ►Multimedia moms mommys (1)
      • ►Videos mommys (1)
    • ►My Writing mommys (10)
      • ►In Response mommys (1)
      • ►In The Moment mommys (4)
      • ►Monthly Blog Chain mommys (1)
      • ►Reflection mommys (2)
      • ►Stories mommys (1)
        • ►Nonfiction mommys (1)
  • ►Multimedia (20)
    • ►Photos (4)
    • ►Slideshow (2)
    • ►Videos (12)
      • ►YouTube (7)
  • ►My Journeys (306)
    • ►365 Day Writing Journey (152)
    • ►A to Z Challenge (68)
    • ►A to Z Challenge mommys (30)
    • ►NaBloPoMo (56)
  • ▼My Writing (551)
    • ►365 Days (185)
    • ►Bible Study Quiet Time (93)
      • ►Jen Hatmaker (42)
        • ►A Modern Girl’s Guide to Bible Study (21)
      • ►Priscilla Shirer (2)
        • ►The Armor of God (1)
    • ►In Response (37)
    • ▼In The Moment (149)
      • We Miss Her So Much...
      • Tomorrow...
      • Loneliness, how it must feel
      • Mari's Spirit
      • Communication, How Hard Is It Really?
      • 4 Months...
      • True Friendship
      • The holidays...
      • Stop and Think
      • What if I could have what I wanted
      • A Dedication to My Other Half
      • On our way to Hawaii
      • Time and How Precious It Really Is
      • Back from Hawaii
      • Went to see Movie, It's wasn't supposed to be sad
      • Thank you for reading and listening...
      • What do you say to someone who has lost a child?
      • 6 months have come and gone
      • Sitting Here Dazed and Confused
      • Suddenly and Out of the Blue, It Hits You
      • Remembering Mari, how sweet it really is!!
      • Posting Comments and To Those Who Care
      • Can Two People Really Grieve That Differently?
      • 8 Months Have Come and Gone
      • Mari's Crayons
      • Music of the Heart
      • Today is 8 months
      • Today has been a day
      • Loneliness
      • Comments and Feedback
      • Missing her...
      • Sitting in class...
      • How am I supposed to live my life without her?
      • Pictures...
      • Shopping...
      • It's coming...
      • Mother's Day is Here
      • Approaching 11 months…
      • When We Think of 4th of July
      • Time Keeps on Treking
      • Thinking about Mari
      • Thanksgiving
      • Bad Days They Come and Go
      • Contemplating Christmas
      • 16 Years of Wedded Bliss, Could Anyone Ask For Anything More
      • To Feel Lucky...
      • The days, months, and years to come
      • Talking from the heart...
      • That Empty Spot
      • It's that time of year...
      • The dreaded deed has been done
      • Paperwork Junkies
      • Moving Time...
      • Mari's Dress
      • Just sitting here thinking
      • Love The One Your With
      • Iris and Kristena
      • It's time to get in shape
      • Strength…
      • To Lose Weight or Not To Lose Weight: That is the Question
      • Then it hits ya
      • Do you have any kids?
      • New Pages Added: Her Hospital Story
      • When life throws you a curve ball (man, all I wanted was a fast one :) )
      • Julie and Sylvia
      • The Start of a New Day
      • July Sucks!
      • Tangible Things
      • Sitting here thinking...
      • Facebook...
      • A Day in the Life of a Grieving Mommy
      • An update...
      • Jackie Evancho
      • The struggles of life...
      • Unchoices
      • Marriage
      • Work at Walmart
      • Unfinished...
      • Harder to write these days...
      • Missing her...
      • Justin Bieber
      • Singing...
      • Find a new church home
      • Rules aren't meant to be followed right?!?!
      • Grateful for the little things in life
      • Super Bowl Sunday
      • I'm still amazed...
      • Mari's Book is Done
      • The Waiting Game
      • Women's Retreat first entry
      • Women's Retreat second entry
      • Moments
      • Mari's book
      • Missing Her...
      • The Tears of Mother's Day
      • A Special Sneak Peak
      • Having Kids
      • Things that happen
      • Exciting Times
      • Today kind of sucked for me
      • The innocence of a child
      • Remember back...
      • Giving your life over
      • This Year's Ladies Retreat in Gatlinburg
      • It's kind of amazing...
      • Writing Fiction
      • Needing prayer please
      • Starting to work on Mari's book again
      • Writing Mari's story
      • A book worth mentioning
      • Unexpected turns in the road...
      • Sitting here thinking
      • All in a picture
      • A Sad Day
      • "Oh that won't happen to me"
      • 19 Years Today
      • Taxes, Oh What Fun
      • Memorial Day
      • Birthdays
      • Laura Story
      • Missing my writing
      • I Can Only Imagine...
      • KLove on the brain...
      • My 365 Day Journey
      • Happiness and Finding It within Yourself
      • Moments Where Prayer Is Needed
      • Not For A Moment (Meredith Andrews)
      • Billy Graham and My Life
      • Been a little absent
      • Our website has an addition to the header
      • Seeing the Gift
      • Going through Mari’s stuff
      • Happy Birthday Mariana. You're 15 Today (or you would've been :( ) #acfw #lossofchild
      • Knowing when a joke isn't funny
      • Life's Too Short
      • It's Time to Stand Strong
      • Motivation... Or the Lack There of
      • Have You Ever Felt Lonely?
      • 5 Things to Find Happiness In
      • How Do I Get My Priorities Straight?
      • Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect Job?
      • Do You Have Shiny-Object Syndrome?
      • Sharing My Struggle
      • Living Hope
      • Out of Control
      • Happy New Year #2020
      • #2020 - Looking Back
      • Thoughts, Reflections, and More (#bestill)
      • Loss… Then Blessings Abound… #believer #blessings #beyondgrateful
    • ►Monthly Blog Chain (3)
    • ►My Journeys (2)
    • ▼Reflection (68)
      • Tomorrow...
      • Time...
      • What does the word Mariana mean?
      • Memories...
      • Mari's World - Can You Just Imagine
      • What if I could have what I wanted
      • A Dedication to My Other Half
      • Time and How Precious It Really Is
      • Mari's 9th birthday was today
      • Went to see Movie, It's wasn't supposed to be sad
      • 6 months have come and gone
      • Remembering Mari, how sweet it really is!!
      • Thoughts...
      • The Value of a Mom’s Tears (or Dad's)
      • Wonder and Confusion For What Life Brings Us
      • Mari's Crayons
      • Life In General...
      • Today has been a day
      • Missing her...
      • "Held"...
      • Pictures...
      • Shopping...
      • It's coming...
      • When We Think of 4th of July
      • Time Keeps on Treking
      • Justing Sitting Here...
      • Mariana: A Personality Exuded
      • To Feel Lucky...
      • Changes
      • Moving Time...
      • Just sitting here thinking
      • Iris and Kristena
      • It Happens At the Strangest Time
      • How quickly time flies before we realize...
      • Meeting Someone New
      • July Sucks!
      • Work at Walmart
      • "Out of these ashes beauty will rise"
      • Playing Games
      • The magic of love
      • Singing...
      • Writing through tragedy
      • Seeing Mari again
      • Keith's 40th
      • Changes in life...
      • Becoming a Writer
      • What do we have to be thankful for?
      • You just never know...
      • Joy
      • Happiness
      • What does it mean to nurture?
      • Hitting "The Mark"
      • Being Thankful
      • It's been 4 years...
      • Reflecting on Mari's posts...
      • "Oh that won't happen to me"
      • Special Unforgettable Moments
      • 19 Years Today
      • Coming to a decision...
      • Billy Graham and My Life
      • Happy Thanksgiving
      • Been a little absent
      • Is There Such a Thing as a Perfect Job?
      • Do You Have Shiny-Object Syndrome?
      • Happy New Year #2020
      • #2020 - Looking Back
      • Thoughts, Reflections, and More (#bestill)
      • Loss… Then Blessings Abound… #believer #blessings #beyondgrateful
    • ►S.H.E. Time (2)
    • ►Time (6)
    • Tomorrow...
    • Time...
    • What does the word Mariana mean?
    • Mari's Hospital Story
    • several entries coming...
    • Women's Retreat third entry
    • I am needing help...
    • Updated chapters 1 & 2
    • New Possible Book Cover
    • Please let me know which book cover you like best
    • Updated the first couple of chapters
    • Moving forward with the book
    • Just sitting here thinking...
    • Life's Moments...
    • Life's moments and other things...
    • Old and New
    • Things that happen
    • Reflecting...
    • Mari's Special Video
    • A Mother's Love
    • What does the word "savior" mean to you?
    • Monthly Blog Chain
    • A hole in your heart
    • The Unexpected Journey - Revised
    • Special Unforgettable Moments
    • On a temporary break
    • Was or Is?
    • Loss… Then Blessings Abound… #believer #blessings #beyondgrateful
  • ►Other Site Authors (2)
    • ►Clever Girl (1)
    • ►Mari’s Teacher Mrs. A. (1)
  • ►Poetry (32)
    • ►Athena’s (1)
    • ►Free Form (11)
    • ►Rhyming (7)
  • ►Songs (13)
    • ►Lyrics (6)
    • ►Music (5)
  • ►Stories (16)
    • ►Fictional (4)
    • ►Nonfiction (9)
  • ►The Journey (75)
  • ►Websites (3)
  • ►Writing (42)