Dealing with the Unexpected - being real

Dear hubby went to our old house on Friday to turn a trickle of water on, preparing for the expected frigid temperatures over the coming days. We had left the furnace on and kept all utilities in place as we were needing to do a few small projects before listing it for sale in the new year. What was totally unexpected was pouring and gushing water in the original part of the house that my grandpa had built. A main water pipe in the second floor had burst and since mold had already begun to grow, it had probably been pouring for many days. Not trickling, but pouring! The standing water in the basement damaged the furnace so now there is also ice on all the windows, too. I can't describe how severe the damage is and you would never believe it unless you could see it. Not only is there Sheetrock soaked and fallen on several floors, but lights are hanging off the basement rafters where the pouring water had damaged everything in its path. The ceiling fans that were so pretty now had drooping blades like wilted flowers. The ceilings on the first floor and basement are damaged beyond repair and the wood floors (75 year old oak floors my grandpa put in, and all the new oak floors we had installed in the last year) are buckled and ruined. We contacted our insurance company immediately. Hubby had shut off the water and contacted a water damage company who assured us they would take care of all the issues involved and would have to take everything off the ceilings and walls. They knew the process. Rest assured. $50,000 in damages on a home we were needing to sell. It's damaged at half the value of the amount we still owe on it. And no where near being able to be listed for sale now. Then, the hammer dropped. Literally. Our expensive insurance policy is worthless for water damage. They do not cover water damage. However, we had always purchased good (and more than ample) insurance that would meet our needs IF a devastation would occur. 17 years of insurance. But when we moved in October, we had to switch our coverage to "vacancy" insurance since we didn't live there anymore. We paid twice the amount of premiums, and apparently received less than we ever had before in coverage. Yes, we should have understood our policy better. No, we should not have trusted an agent who had handled every bit of our insurance needs for the last 17 years to know the policy we had been handed. But why would we doubt his integrity now? He had always taken good care of our insurance needs in years past. But this time it's "oh, I didn't realize they didn't cover damage from water." Really? So, we struggle with tears as we survey the damage to the $30,000 addition we added 2 years ago. We cry as we pull off Sheetrock and ceilings and realize it's JUST A HOUSE. We have a lot of hopes wrapped up in this house. We had dreams and plans that need to be set aside now as we begin the major rebuild. We will work on it with due diligence to make it safe and liveable again. We estimate a year to rebuild and a ton of money for supplies. I tend to ask myself in difficult times, "what can I learn from this?" 1. Don't trust an agent, no matter how much you like him. Read policies and ask questions. 2. Keeping heat on in a vacant building will not keep pipes from freezing in Michigan winters. 3. Be thankful we were not on vacation and came home to all of our household being ruined. The majority of our possessions had already been moved to our new home. 4. Continue gratitude that there was no person injured. 5. Realize bad things do happen to good people. 6. God knows our needs and we can continue to trust him even when our situations seem devastating. So, we continue to move forward. We try to turn the financial burden and stresses involved over to a loving God, and ask that our hearts are kept strong in the tasks ahead. Whew. Not what we expected for the new year.