Sunday morning retuning: God loves broken (people). That’s good news isn’t it!?! But how will you make it more that a Big Idea? Do you know what your NEXT STEP is as you respond to our encounter with God Sunday? Maybe you need to review. Check here for resources to help you.
Occasionally I will hear an amazing story that I think bears retelling because of the perspective it can bring. The following is from guest contributor, Todd Maki. He shared this with me last week and I felt compelled to share it with you, my Tuesday Tuning-ites. I pray the Lord will speak to you through it as He did me...
I woke up on Wednesday morning as usual. Lots of rain, which I really like (I am one of the strange few that really loves the rainy, snowy weather in Ohio). I had an appointment with someone from the gas company arranged to come and look at my meter in the morning. When he arrived, I let him into the house and into the basement, where there was a bit of water that had collected around the drain - which wasn't unusual, as I live in an older home and the drain is a bit on the slow side; a bit of water will tend to seep into the basement from time to time, but it eventually drains away. He checked the meter, I went back upstairs and went back to work.
photo not from Todd’s basement, just for illustrative purposes
I came downstairs in a few hours and noticed that the puddle had gotten even bigger. I figured that it was probably just a bit more excess water than usual, as the nation in general has been experiencing floods and the like; this was probably just a bit more water than usual. I figured that I would just wait a bit longer before dealing with it, as, though it is an inconvenience, it always tends to go away.
Again, photo not from Todd’s basement, just for illustrative purposes
A few more hours had passed and I checked on it again. The "puddle" was not a puddle any more. It was approximately 8 inches of water covering the entire expanse of my basement. Immediately I dropped everything that I was doing (which wasn't terribly convenient, as I had quite a few very hard deadlines that week) and shifted into emergency-evacuate-the-basement mode. In one second I went from dissecting chord progressions to hustling up drumsets, wet cardboard boxes that were falling apart, and tangled cables that were dripping with water from my basement to my living room upstairs.
Having done that, I still was of the opinion that even with all of this water, it would eventually drain away as it always does. Hours passed. The 8 inches of water had become about 10 inches. It inching dangerously close to the furnace and a few electrical things. It had gone from an inconvenience to an emergency to potentially horrific emergency.
I have a wonderfully resourceful, hard working neighbor who happened to have a plug-in pump apparatus with a hose that I was fortunately able to plug in to remove the excess water. Surely this would solve the problem; if I can just drain out this water then it will be fine. It took 6 hours to drain it all out; water was just gushing out of the hose in my driveway heading towards the street. I checked back in a few hours. All of the water was back. I had to systematically drain out my basement every 3 hours. I had no choice but to call a professional to come and diagnose the problem. They informed me that they wouldn't be able to make it out until the next day. I sat there in tears and frustration on the soaking wet bottom few steps on the stairwell. My day was lost, my basement flooded, a few things ruined. But as I watched the water leaving my basement (now for the 4th time), I had a striking vision. Watching the water drain away looked just like sin and its consequences leaving the soul when one repents (who, if you're as flawed as I am, is a lot). I saw the devastation that it left behind and the big mess that it made, and just how much time and energy I had been spending only to continually maintain the damage instead of getting rid of the root problem. I felt such resolve to deal with this problem once and for all so that it never happens again. God literally spoke directly to me in the midst of a very literal flood in a very clear voice, providing me with a real world analogy.
Just like God....my phone rang. It was the plumbing company who unexpectedly had an opening at THAT VERY MOMENT. They arrived in 3 minutes. They did a few analysis things then brought in the tools to fix whatever the problem was.
I sat there, watching. I asked the main plumber: "Was it all of the storms in the area that caused the problem"
His answer haunted me for the rest of the week:"No", he answered, "The storm wasn't the problem; the clogged drain was. The storm just brought much needed attention to the problem which has always been there".
This clog in my drain has been there for so long that I had stopped paying any attention to it. I was fine limping along with the periodic inconvenience of it. But when the consequences became out of control, I was forced to come to terms with the reality of what I didn't want to see, know about or deal with. The clog has now been cleared and -though I have a HUGE mess to clean up- the floods will be no more.
"Go and sin no more...."
Thanks Todd for that beautiful reminder of the need to deal not with symptoms but with the root cause of our problems, sin. As you continue to live a life of worship, allow the Holy Spirit to examine your life regularly and do not turn a blind eye to the evidence that there is a problem.
Jesus, unclog our drains. When the floods come, help us get to the bottom of the problem, Send your plumbing specialist, the Holy Spirit to diagnose and fix our problems. We welcome Him in. In Jesus name. Amen.
In Christ,
Pastor Timothy
