taps

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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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A Near Perfect Installation

It was almost a perfect installation … except for the leak.

We have been having issues with our laundry room taps for some time. But for me, they are out of the way and rarely used, so I didn’t see it as a priority to deal with.

Recently, however, Lily put a bucket under the faucet and I couldn’t believe how fast the water filled the bucket even with the taps turned off. 

I knew we needed to do something, but the taps were over 20 years old and I’m not a plumber. 

My wife, Lily, found a really nice utility sink cabinet combo that also included a set of taps. So I threw caution to the wind and decided to try to install that bad boy.

One thing really surprised me about the old dripping taps was that when we would turn the taps on, it always seemed like the water was coming from some far away place, like the street or Lake Ontario. 

You would turn the taps on and then wait. You would hear the sound of something in the distance coming from the taps and it would get louder and louder before the water showed up at the spout. 

By then you had turned the taps to full, so the water came out like a rocket. 

“If the water is so far away,” I wondered, “how could the leaky tap now fill a bucket so fast?”

That’s a mystery – like who shot JFK – that will never be solved. I just have to let it go. 

The install of the new sink unit went pretty well. Lily helped with the measuring and I cut pipes to fit. 

I did not get one cut straight. I’m not sure how the pros do it. Maybe I got excited near the end of each cut and pressed harder, which in turn turned the blade of the saw just a little.

I was concerned about it, but all the pieces fit together. I was sure happy when it was done.

I put a bucket in the sink to test the taps and they worked like a dream. I wasn’t going to let any water go down the drain until the glue had dried so I waited 24 hours before testing it all out. 

The water came out beautifully and immediately. This time there was no going for a coffee before the water appeared.  

I opened the cabinet up and looked at all the drain work we had done. I thought everything was good. 

But then I saw a bead of water start to drip. And as the taps ran, it dripped more until there was a little puddle of water on the base of the new cabinet.

I knew right then that I would never become a plumber. 

The question was, “What went wrong?” Was it my crooked cuts? Was it the fact that the drain wasn’t 100% straight up and down? 

… Maybe a combination of both.  

All I know is that most of my attention was on what’s under the sink and not what everyone sees.

Here’s the thing: We all like to look good on the outside, and we spend a lot of time and effort creating and maintaining a public image. But before your public image has any credibility, what’s on the inside needs to be made right. Make sure you spend more time with God getting your inner life right than you do trying to make your public image look good. Your inner life will drive what people see. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What part of your inner life do you need to spend time on? Leave your comments below.

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Change Happens Over Time

A lot can happen over a long period of time. You don’t notice the change at first because it takes time to develop.

leaky tap

Recently, we cleaned the deck in our backyard. When we moved in to our house the wood was pressure-treated and it looked great. But over the years it started to look grey and old and there were dark patches that became more dominant.

It didn’t just happen; it gradually got that way so that it kind of snuck up on us. But one day we realized we needed to do something about this deck; it was not looking very good.

Scientists will say that’s the way the whole world works; it’s called evolution. Given enough time, things develop. One problem I see with their theory is that, with everything at my house that changes over time, it changes for the worst!

It deteriorates; it doesn’t get better, or turn into something new and improved. Things get worse.

You might not notice for a while, or pick up on the little signs, or indicators, but down the road at some point you realize that things are not as they were, and it’s not for the better.

This week Lily discovered something in our basement that had developed over the last week or so. I had sort of noticed that there was something going on in our basement, but it wasn’t totally clear to me.

On Friday night, Lily was talking on the phone and walking in the basement when she stepped on a wet part of the carpet.

It wasn’t supposed to be wet there and, as she looked further, she discovered that this wet area was pretty large. It had soaked the bottoms of book cases, a closet organizer and some picture frames.

When Lily told me, I realized what I had noticed earlier – a faint, musty smell that was actually coming from this water.

We knew right away where the problem originated. I had fixed a few taps in the house last week and, in doing that, had to shut off the water in the house. Well, the tap at the water meter had been dripping slowly since that time.

I guess it turns out that taps only last nineteen years because I’ve now replaced all the taps that old in the place!

It’s pretty amazing how a little drip over time can soak such a large piece of carpet and ruin several things. If it had have been a faster drip, I probably would have noticed it and not left it.

But I didn’t notice the leaky tap, and a week later it had created a mess!

It takes some people time to notice things. A few days ago, I was talking to someone and he motioned at my face. I knew immediately what he was referring to – my goatee … which is not there anymore and hasn’t been for a year and half.

There were no lasting effects with my facial hair going undetected. However, we have a big clean up ahead of us from that undetected drip in our basement.

Here’s the thing: Messes, like sin and hurts, if not addressed, can interfere with your relationship with God. They may not be that noticeable at first, but as more messes pile up, the damage to your relationship with God can get to the point where everyone around you notices things aren’t right. Don’t let the little things go unattended and you will keep your relationship with God in good shape.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What have you noticed that turned into something big? Leave your comment below.