hardware store

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A Project Often Requires More Resources Than We Have

Have you ever worked on a project where one more thing turned into many more things?

a project often requires more resources than we have

That was my experience recently while renovating a bathroom sink.

Countless times when I work on home projects I find I don’t have everything I need with me. It requires me going back downstairs to get another screwdriver or wrench.

I think it’s hereditary because, when I was a kid, my dad often told me to go get this tool or that tool for him. I hated having to be the one to leave the job site to fetch a tool, knowing well enough that it wouldn’t be my only trip to the work bench.

On the other hand, when my kids were young, I loved how I could get them to go and bring me things that I had forgotten to gather when working on a project.

… I guess it’s true that what goes around comes around.

It’s one thing to have to go to the basement or garage to get something for a task, or to send someone else to do your dirty work. It’s a whole other matter when you have to go to the store to get what you need.

And this is why men have so many tools. They collect them over the years from running back and forth to the store. Thankfully, once you have every possible tool, it should save you a couple of trips to the hardware store over your life time. 

Well, last week I was replacing the bathroom sink and taps at our cottage. It’s not that hard of a job but, when plumbing is involved, there is never anything easy about it. 

The sink had already purchased the sink, but I first needed to make sure it fit the existing hole in the counter. I removed the old sink so I could measure and know exactly what I needed for the job. I thought by doing that I could save some time and trips to the hardware store.

When everything was apart, I realized the hole needed to be a little bigger. I had to borrow my brother’s jigsaw because I didn’t bring mine to the cottage. 

Once that was settled, I figured out all the parts I would need and headed to the hardware store. On my way home I was confident I could get it all done in one shot.

Boy, was I wrong. 

When I got home I realized the water lines didn’t come with the new taps, so I went back to the store for water lines. 

I had to go back a second time for silicone sealant. I’d originally purchased plumbers’ putty but that wasn’t what the instructions required.

At that point I thought I was done, but sadly I was not. 

The drain that came with the taps was for a sink with an overflow. I didn’t have that so back I went one more time to get a drain without an overflow.

… Four trips to the store and two trips to my brother’s cottage. 

Oh how I wish my kids were around so I could have sent them to the store.

Here’s the thing: Life is a little like that bathroom project of mine. We keep discovering that there is something more we need. Often we don’t know what to do. The great thing is we can go to God because, like that hardware store, He has everything we need. Seek Him first for what you need.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: When have you had to make multiple trips to get what you need? Leave your comments and questions below.

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I Had To Do A Double Take Of The Hardware Store Ad

It’s becoming apparent that hardware stores need another season.

In athletics there are seasons for different sports, and sporting goods stores sell products related to the time of year a particular sport is in season.

Grocery stores sell food in season. With refrigeration it’s not as evident, but foods that are out of season in a region are more expensive, causing us to not buy them as often.

I eat grapefruit every morning but there is a time of year that one of my regular stores doesn’t sell them. And in other stores, the quality is often so poor that I tend not to purchase them.

You would think then it would be easy for hardware stores to find things to sell in season without running into other seasons. But this week I opened up some flyers and couldn’t believe what my local Lowes, Rona, and Home Depot were selling.

They were selling BBQs ahead of snowblowers!

They had big spreads of patio and deck furniture. They were featuring planters, shade umbrellas and artificial grass.

I can understand the grass because you could lay it down on top of the snow, and then place your new deck furniture on it.

It would be chilling out there but, if you had a gas fireplace on the deck, who knows? The wind might blow the flame and heat your way, keeping your core body temperature warm while your toes, hands and ears all broke off with frostbite!

You realize it’s February, and it’s Canada I’m living in – what in the world are these stores thinking of when they put out ads like this?

It’s clear they need another season of goods to sell.

There’s a Scotia Bank commercial here that talks about Canada having a 5th season, that season being hockey that runs all year long.

But really the hardware stores need a 5th season too. Even if the advertising got me ramped up to purchase some lawn furniture in February, do I really want to buy it only to have to find some place to store it for another two to three months?

I don’t think so.

What families are going to start parking their cars on the driveway instead of in the garage, scraping off the ice and snow, getting into freezing cold vehicles every day, just so they have somewhere to put their new deck loungers that they won’t be able to use until mid-May?

I’m all for having the stores change their focus leading into the next season, but this is ridiculous.

Maybe they should be selling little ice huts for BBQs. These huts could be like ice fishing huts, but instead of bringing out the auger, you place the BBQ in the center of it and sit around it, keeping warm while the steaks sear, telling stories of the big steer that got away.

I might get interested … but only when I can see some grass poking through the snow.

Here’s the thing: There are many things that want to take your attention away from the present, to sort of paint a preferred mini future for you. But there already is a preferred future that has been painted for us by God. It is life with Him through Christ, His Son. Don’t get sidetracked by the little things that glimmer for a while. Keep focussed on the future God promises.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What things distract you from your preferred future? Leave your comments below.

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How Unfinished Projects Become Invisible

We can get used to living with something that is unfinished. The other day when I was the passenger in a car, the driver pointed out a house to me. He said the owners had been working on that house for over a decade.

10-Lowes-Low-Price-Home-Improvement

It was a big house but the yard was a mess, all overgrown, with at least two construction vehicles parked haphazardly around the property.

It looked to me like people were living in the house, but the outside of it needed bricks or stucco or something to finish it off.

My first thought was to wonder how they lived for ten years in a house that wasn’t finished. But then I remembered that I’m living with an unfinished project myself.

Recently we changed the railing on our deck. But when it came time to do the stair rail, we kind of put the brakes on. I was a little unsure of how to proceed with one part of it, so we just held off until we could get some advice.

We were so busy for the next couple of weekends that we never got to the store to find out how to finish the task.

Finally, this past week we made it to the hardware store and inquired about what we needed to know.

But now it’s not a priority any more. You see, the railing looks pretty much finished. When we look out our patio doors, all we see is the new railing; we don’t see the part that’s unfinished.

It’s just the steps that don’t have the railing and, though it would finish off the project and look complete, it doesn’t look bad.

When we were working on the project we wanted to get it all finished. I didn’t like leaving the job half done. But the more time that passed, I became less and less concerned that it wasn’t complete.

I’m sure the people living in the unfinished house I saw have the same feelings. They may twinge a little bit when they pull into their yard, but once they get into their house, they don’t see the outside and it’s probably liveable on the inside.

We can get so used to living in that unfinished state that we don’t see what it really looks like any more. We look at the finished part and are satisfied.

Even some visual reminders don’t motivate me. For instance, every time I step into my garage I see a pile of old railing pieces that need to be taken to the dump and some 4×4 posts that need to be cut and are waiting to be placed at the bottom of the stairs.

That doesn’t phase me any more; I’m used to that now.

However, other people take one look and notice what is unfinished and that becomes their focus. … I guess I better put a man on it, and finish it off.

Here’s the thing: While our outer life looks fine to everyone, our inner life can be left unfinished. If we care more about how things look to everyone else, we may not take the time to work on the interior. And we can get very comfortable living in an unfinished state, to the point that we don’t even notice what needs to be worked on any more. Take an inventory of the spiritual work you need most, and put a man on it. Don’t neglect that unfinished work.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you left unfinished and just gotten used to? Leave your comment below.