Small Problem/Big God


On a 1 – 10 scale yesterday was a maxed out 10. The main character was a leaky water-line. When our home was built two decades ago someone ‘creatively’ installed a Jerry-rigged water-line connection . . . a real DRIP!!!

I’m normally an inveterate optimist who’s reaching for another glass to pour while pessimists are complaining their glass being ½ empty. Discovering this boondoggle failed to spark optimistic thoughts. Consoling myself that a water-line repair kit would be the correct DRIP fix, I headed off to Lowes confident the repair would boost me from an apprentice 3 to a journeyman 10 on my wife’s Handyman scale 😊

Back home, squeezing under the cabinets to install the water-line repair kit, my optimism took a major hit . . . the kit’s standard connection didn’t fit the Jerry-rigged boondoggle’s connection . . . Arggggh!

Henry Ford was once asked the secret of his success. He replied, “I hire people smarter than me.”           . . . it was time for me to seek the advice of an experienced Handyman more proficient than myself which includes 99.999% of all Handymen 😊

I dialed Leon, a friend and retired engineer renowned for his gratis volunteer Handyman prowess. He told me he and his wife were returning from visiting their grandchildren in Florida . . . Next . . .

I visited Hugh, another retired engineer and neighbor whose basement workshop would qualify as a Lowes substation 😊 After sharing my dilemma, Hugh began searching through his extensive collection of plumbing fittings for a piece to attach a standard water-line connection to my Jerry-rigged boondoggle. No such piece was to be found. However, he came up with a possible Rube Goldberg solution, lent me some tools to accomplish the task, and I headed back to Lowes.

Relaying my plumbing plight and Hugh’s possible Rube Goldberg solution with a helpful Lowes’ associate, he spent considerable time sorting through a multitude of water-line fittings to solve my Jerry-rigged water-line disaster. None was to be had.

 “I’m seldom stumped, but this one’s got me”, he apologized. My optimism now registered ½ empty   . . . enter my Big God.

CLUNK!”  . . . a small fitting from my water-line fittings kit fell to the floor at the Lowe’s associate’s feet. He picked it up, examined it closely, and then exclaimed . . . “Wow! This might work . . . It fits!”

Divine intervention”, I remarked. He smiled back.

Back in the car, my cell rang. Leon said he and his wife had arrived back home and he was willing to come over and help me apply Hugh’s Rube Goldberg solution to my Jerry-rigged water-line boondoggle.  Remembering Henry Ford’s wisdom, I readily agreed on the condition he would allow me to spring for a 5* McDonald’s dinner for him, his spouse and mine . . . Leon’s a cheap date, and a ½ later the leaky water-line was no more and we were all enjoying ‘fine dining’😊

My life’s rear-view window of what’s past is crystal clear. It’s my front-view windshield of what lies ahead that’s foggy and unclear. Not until my water-line boondoggle was finally resolved did I reflect back and suddenly realize how my Big God was intervening all along in my small problem with His Divine boondoggle solution equation:

2 knowledgeable friends + 1 Lowe’s associate + 1 small, dropped fitting = Problem Solved!

Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid.”

Matthew 10:30

Granted, there’s substantially fewer follicles to number now than once graced my noggin’. However, even if I were bald . . . a future reality 😊 . . . I’m forever grateful and certain my Big God will always be there to intervene with whatever problems I may encounter, no matter how small or large . . . Thanks Abba

Keep Looking Up ^ . . . His Best is Yet to Come!


Comments

8 responses to “Small Problem/Big God”

  1. What a wonderful story, and delightfully told, Fred. Praise God for these little interventions that assure us He IS there, He IS paying attention to our plights, and He WILL see us through (sometimes with a plumber, sometimes not)!

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  2. Obviously God has His fix-it angels at Home Depot as well JD 😊

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  3. Had a similar leak in our travel trailer when we got it out for the first time this weekend. Ordinarily I only think to pray when I come to the end of my limited handyman expertise. This time I prayed first. Even then, my pride usually keeps me from admitting my ignorance in order to ask for help. My prayers and a dose of humility led me to a knowledgeable Home Depot associate who helped me with the right parts and tools to fix the issue without spending a small fortune. Asking for divine and human assistance has been the mark of long-overdue maturity for me.

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  4. I’ve always wondered if, for those whose heads shed over the years, if Father gives them extra blessings in other ways since His bookkeepers have less work to do?🤠😂

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  5. Great story, Fred! I think I would have panicked earlier than you did – half full becomes half empty becomes thrown against the wall! I love the Matthew quote – the God of detail – who certainly has an easier job with hair-counting on some of my elderly gent friends that he would in previous days.

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  6. Anonymous

    wow! It amazes me often how the Lord steps in just as all seems lost!! 
    God will always find a way…. Of that I am certain.

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  7. Love your math — and this story! Headline: God fits any size drip!

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  8. love that story. One sure has to enjoy those moments after taking a hit.

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