Plumbing Woes

Today has not been a fun day. Last night the shower backed up. I thought it was because of too many things draining at the same time. This morning I thoroughly cleaned it. Right after I cleaned it, it backed up again with the flush of a toilet. The toilet also backed up. So did the bath tub. I decided to try the other toilet just to see if it would work. Nope! I needed a royal flush, but the cards were stacked against me.

I sent Joyce and the kids on to church so that I could take care of this situation like a man. "How does a man take care of a situation like this?" you may ask. Well, that's a good question. A man's not afraid to get his hands dirty. A man will face the enemy face to face. A man recognizes that it was for such a time as this that he has made a thousand tool purchases because a man's motto is "Be Prepared." Well, okay, it is the Boyscouts' motto, but it is a motto that resonates in my mind every time I walk into Lowe's or Sears.

All my tools were very easy to find because yesterday I needed to change the brake pads on the van. I was just positive that I had an extra set out in the shed (be prepared). However, I could not locate them on account of my shed's personal problem. It isn't really big enough to hold everything that's in it, but all of which is totally necessary (be prepared). So everything just kind of got piled into it in a rather random, chaotic way. It was so full that it was dangerous to enter. So how were my tools easy to find?

I entered the dangerous version of the shed to find the brake pads. I kept tripping over things that were in my way, but I could not find the brake pads. I finally decided to take everything out of the shed and reorganize it, that way I could find what I needed. I emptied the floor of the shed which was a monumental task, and stacked it around the backyard, also a monumental task. That is how I so easily found my tools. I can clearly see now that the backyard is about the right size of the shed I need to hold all my stuff.

First I plunged with my super-sucker plunger for a while. Since everything was backed up I just went around and plunged this for a while, and then plunged that for a while, but when nothing drains, you know you have to advance from the plunger to the sewer snake!

The sewer snake is my least favorite plumbing tool because it goes deep into the sewer lines to do its job, and then you have to handle it. But a real man won't shy away from the really dirty stuff. This also did not work, and now I stink.

To make a long story short, it took a real plumber to clean out the main sewer drain line. The problem: Roots. Good indoor plumbing is one of the most cherished possessions in all the world. Once you've used indoor plumbing, you have a tough time even using a port-a-potty.

I can think of several scriptures that this whole plumbing crisis brings to mind. In Mark 7:18-23, Jesus tells his disciples, "whatever enters a man from outside cannot defile him, because it does not enter his heart but his stomach, and is eliminated, thus purifying all foods?” And He said, “What comes out of a man, that defiles a man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man.” I can hardly wait for heaven where we won't have to deal with stinky toilets anymore. Now that I have gotten dirty and smelly, does God get repulsed by me? No, but I believe that our plumbing and sewer is a good reminder of how repulsive and stinky our sin is to our holy God.

Sin is not some force that we cannot fight that therefore overtakes us. To sin or not to sin is a choice that we have to make. A follower of Christ doesn't have to sin. Paul wrote to the messed up church in Corinth, "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." Pray that God will help you be holy and that you would recognize and use all of the escapes He provides for you to get out of temptation without sinning. So flush out that mind as often as you shower or bathe, and wash your heart from evil as often as you thank God for your plumbing.

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things."
-Philippians 4:8


---Johnie