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Cal's Pastoral Epistles
"Just Call The Plumber"
August 23, 2007
It started with a little drip in the shower. It wasn't a big deal. As soon as
you walked out of the bathroom you could forget about it. A few weeks
passed and then I noticed mold growing along the base of the shower wall.
I knew that wasn't good. I did think about calling a plumber but I figured I
could handle a little problem like a leaky faucet.
I got in there and couldn't find an access panel to shut the water off. I
tried to unscrew the spigot with no success. Finally I decided to call my
friend George. He's handy with these type of things. The first thing he did
was search for the water shut off valve. He found it in the basement and
when he tried to turn it off, water began dripping there too! As it turned
out, the shut off didn't work but we didn't realize that until George got an
unwanted shower. So we had to shut down the main water supply to the
house.
We finally managed to get the shower apart but it came with a price. The
handle broke and a new leak started in the wall. We fixed the leak only to
find out the shower assemble wouldn't go back together properly. You
could turn the water on but it would not turn off. I started asking my self
why I thought the drip was a bad thing in the first place. I could have lived
with that.
Dealing with plumbing is harder than you think. I remember hearing my
father say that when we put a new kitchen in our old house. He did home
construction for several years when he was younger. When I was
growing up he was always doing things around the house. He backed off
when it came to plumbing. He told me that a ten minute project always
ended up taking longer, costing more, requiring much more energy than
you planned for. That proved true the other night. So on Tuesday morning
I called the plumber.
Sometimes you have to admit that you have a problem you can't handle.
We live in a macho world where self sufficiency is supposed to be a
virtue. As a result we have all subscribed to the "do it yourself" mentality.
That is good up to a point. It is good when we understand our limitations.
Too often we make the mistake of thinking we can handle something that
is beyond our ability. I always think of the serenity prayer in this regard.
First penned by Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr as a tag line in a sermon, the
Serenity Prayer was quickly embraced by Bill W. and Alcoholics
Anonymous. It was a reminder that we have limitations and that
sometimes we need help from a higher power. It struck me that sin is a lot
like that leaky shower head in my bathroom. We often try to ignore it until
it begins to have a visible effect on our lives. Then we try to take care of it
ourselves, only to find out that the problem has roots deeper than we ever
imagined. We look to ourselves and our friends but what we really need is
an expert.
That is where God comes in. God is the author and creator of human life.
He knows how we are put together. When sin and error creep in, God
knows just what is needed to fix the problem. He is the master builder, the
super plumber, the exquisite designer and he wants you to know the joy of
living life in his neighborhood. The best part of the deal is that he offers his
service for free. Actually, his price is pretty steep but someone else already
paid the bill. So what are you waiting for? You got a problem? Call on the
one who can fix it and get you back on track.
God Bless. See you in Church. Cal
August 23, 2007
It started with a little drip in the shower. It wasn't a big deal. As soon as
you walked out of the bathroom you could forget about it. A few weeks
passed and then I noticed mold growing along the base of the shower wall.
I knew that wasn't good. I did think about calling a plumber but I figured I
could handle a little problem like a leaky faucet.
I got in there and couldn't find an access panel to shut the water off. I
tried to unscrew the spigot with no success. Finally I decided to call my
friend George. He's handy with these type of things. The first thing he did
was search for the water shut off valve. He found it in the basement and
when he tried to turn it off, water began dripping there too! As it turned
out, the shut off didn't work but we didn't realize that until George got an
unwanted shower. So we had to shut down the main water supply to the
house.
We finally managed to get the shower apart but it came with a price. The
handle broke and a new leak started in the wall. We fixed the leak only to
find out the shower assemble wouldn't go back together properly. You
could turn the water on but it would not turn off. I started asking my self
why I thought the drip was a bad thing in the first place. I could have lived
with that.
Dealing with plumbing is harder than you think. I remember hearing my
father say that when we put a new kitchen in our old house. He did home
construction for several years when he was younger. When I was
growing up he was always doing things around the house. He backed off
when it came to plumbing. He told me that a ten minute project always
ended up taking longer, costing more, requiring much more energy than
you planned for. That proved true the other night. So on Tuesday morning
I called the plumber.
Sometimes you have to admit that you have a problem you can't handle.
We live in a macho world where self sufficiency is supposed to be a
virtue. As a result we have all subscribed to the "do it yourself" mentality.
That is good up to a point. It is good when we understand our limitations.
Too often we make the mistake of thinking we can handle something that
is beyond our ability. I always think of the serenity prayer in this regard.
First penned by Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr as a tag line in a sermon, the
Serenity Prayer was quickly embraced by Bill W. and Alcoholics
Anonymous. It was a reminder that we have limitations and that
sometimes we need help from a higher power. It struck me that sin is a lot
like that leaky shower head in my bathroom. We often try to ignore it until
it begins to have a visible effect on our lives. Then we try to take care of it
ourselves, only to find out that the problem has roots deeper than we ever
imagined. We look to ourselves and our friends but what we really need is
an expert.
That is where God comes in. God is the author and creator of human life.
He knows how we are put together. When sin and error creep in, God
knows just what is needed to fix the problem. He is the master builder, the
super plumber, the exquisite designer and he wants you to know the joy of
living life in his neighborhood. The best part of the deal is that he offers his
service for free. Actually, his price is pretty steep but someone else already
paid the bill. So what are you waiting for? You got a problem? Call on the
one who can fix it and get you back on track.
God Bless. See you in Church. Cal
Pastor Cal Lord writes these weekly epistles to
help us see God in every day things.
help us see God in every day things.
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