Plumbing Woes

As many of you know, Randy is in the US this week attending a Global Impact Conference. Any time that he's away, we pray that there will be no major problems with our apartment. In the past, we have been blessed with uneventful days. This trip has proven to be an exception. God has chosen to bless us with a trial.

Tuesday evening the drain in our bathroom floor began gurgling up raw sewage. I grabbed the plunger and went to work, praying the whole time that nothing would leak into our neighbors' home. At first, my efforts only resulted in more sewage churning up the drain--about an inch and a half deep. After another 30 or 40 minutes of plunging the water began to drain back down. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, I mopped up and hopped in the shower. You cannot even begin to imagine how nasty I felt!

Wednesday morning the sewage returned. This time the plunger had no effect and after having a good cry I had to call in a plumber. He worked all afternoon Wednesday and even had to take the bathtub apart (not as big a job as it sounds, since it isn't sealed to the floor the way US tubs are). He's back again today to put the bathtub back together and to repair the kitchen sink, which also started leaking at the same time as the bathroom drain clogged up.

Of course, those major things bring little complications. Nobody has bathed since Tuesday; the dishes have stacked up; the dirty clothes have multiplied.

Still, I don't want to have the attitude that God hasn't answered our prayers. Although we do pray for things to go smoothly when Randy travels, we also pray to be more like Christ. We can look at a bathroom full of raw sewage as a blessing (after it's mopped up and we've showered) that will teach patience and humility. It's a blessing to be reminded that life isn't about being comfortable.

Go ahead and pray that the rest of this week will be quiet and uneventful, but pray also that any problems and trials that come along will accomplish God's purpose in our lives.