Did you ever find yourself sitting on the edge of the bathtub, clutching a plunger and nearly crying at the wonder of the gurgle of water through pipes and the sight of its imminent departure from your field of vision? i have. Tonight in fact that was me, hair stretching the confines of the pony tail, sleeves pushed up, joy so full in my heart i wanted to either laugh or cry. That crazy woman there- yeah that's totally me. Here's why.
To get my joy you'd have to understand my house. It's..... well if i was buying it i would term it a "fixer upper". Since i own it i'm not sure what to call it. There's wallpaper and paint drooping and sagging in various spots, the electric doesn't work in large chunks of the place, there's a hole between the kitchen and upstairs bathroom, and the pipes are a plumber's nightmare. i know this because we've had them fixed- repeatedly. The hole by the way is for ease of access to the pipes between the two floors. It hasn't been worth replacing that section of kitchen ceiling actually, because of how often that section of pipes broke. Like recently, when i accidentally dislodged the piece of tin can patching a hole in the shower drainage pipe causing what proved to be months of leak issues. A friend recently (praise God!!)) came and fixed this spot for us, and dared to say that we are probably finally done with that section of pipe. Honestly, i'm not sure there is much there which hasn't been fixed or patched now, and the friend thinks what is there and original appears to be pretty solid. So we had a non-dripping pipe, which was bliss in and of itself. Except- we still had a non-draining tub. This is why i was attempting to snake the pipe in the first place, the action which caused the leak.
Now i'm grateful we have hot water and a shower at all, or even water at all. However, my first world mind would like to argue that until you've had to bucket out the water after each shower, you don't realize how annoying this requirement can be. The water, until emptied, sits in the shower, spawning mold growth, and smelling. Bucketing it into the toilet can make you slightly sore. This has recently been made even worse by the fact that my brother has come down with a serious leg infection (perhaps more on that later). This means that i got to bucket out after everyone's showers, as it seemed cruel to ask him to stand on his leg long enough to do it himself. (i also wouldn't make mom do hers of course). Anyway, you get the picture.
So tonight, with a headache, i go upstairs to empty the tub from the shower i took this morning. Prior to doing so, i decide to try again to plunge it. This is something i have tried repeatedly through the months, and previous stoppages. We've also tried chemicals (not in a while, as i hate them), vinegar and baking soda treatments, snaking (difficult with our pipes), and a kitchen sink. (Okay, we haven't tried the kitchen sink, but i did stand atop it to try to snake through the cut pipe prior to the friend reconnecting it.)
So i'm sitting there, plunging, and feeling sorry for myself, wallowing in my singleness and how it would be nice to have a man at times like this. Not that my brother isn't a man, but it's different anyway and he has that leg infection. A man, i thought wistfully, who would fix things like this, and take care of me, and let me curl up and relax when i had a headache and was down on a Friday night. Wistful thinking perhaps, but there i was.
At one point, i prayed. i asked God to please fix the pipe, thinking that i could give Him the glory if He did. i'm not sure if i had actually prayed about it before. i remember thinking that i ought to have tried sooner even tonight.
A few seconds or minutes, really shortly thereafter, i heard a noise. Water was running. i yelled to bubs to check the kitchen, fearing it was only another leak, but he confirmed that it was not so. At that point my ears tuned to the gurgle, and my eyes affixed to the water levels. Sure enough the water was decreasing, and continued to do so until it was all gone. i sat there almost crying, almost laughing at the sight.
See, the thing you have to understand about this- about why it was such a big deal for me, is that it was a mini-miracle. This clog had been so stubborn. i did nothing tonight that i haven't tried before. There is no reason why tonight this should have worked.
Except for God.
And that's the most important part. He cares enough to create a miracle for me. He cares enough to care that my pipes are drained, and i'm feeling low. He cares enough to show me that i don't need a man, i only need Him. He cares enough to answer my prayer, even though i am only one small girl in one small house in a small town in a small life in america. He cares. He doesn't have to. Praise You God that You do!! Praise You that You love us even though we're nothing!!
Thanks again God!! This is balm to my soul.
Amen.
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