I scored a big victory this week and I thought it would make for a nice FTM Thought so here we go! I recently traveled to Nashville for a conference and upon returning home I was greeted by a leaky kitchen faucet that would soon create a major water damage issue if it wasn't given my direct attention quickly. Well that was on a Friday, and my Saturday that week started at 8:00AM and ended around 10:30PM so it was actually Sunday afternoon before I could give any attention to the faucet and any plans to repair or replace this critically important component of the kitchen. Upon evaluation, I determined that repair was not going to be an option. The faucet only leaked when you turned the water on, but being that this is the sole purpose of a faucet a plumbing task was deemed necessary, ASAP! Disclaimer, I am not a plumber. Disclaimer two, I am not a handy man. And Disclaimer three, I am by no means mechanically inclined. Those facts being made known I do have some assets on my side that would ultimately serve me well in this endeavor and those are the nuts and bolts of our time together today.
I don't know why I'm not more mechanically inclined? My dad was a contractor and a large- scale farmer with all sizes and shapes of equipment that had to be fixed on the spot during my childhood. Unfortunately for me, I didn't take advantage of the opportunity to gain those skills and experiences when I had the chance, I spent more time getting out of work and heading to the VFW swimming pool, hindsight is 20/20. Well, since I don't have the inclination or the experiences factor on my side, in years past when faced with a similar dilemma I would just pick up the phone and procure the services of someone much more talented in the needed area and allow them to fix what was ailing my house, car, or kitchen faucet in this case. That was then. The whole premise of Flat Tire Ministries started for me around ten years ago which is a whole different story, hence my unpublished book, "How to Fix a Flat Tire" and the new toolbox I acquired through the "flat tires" life has thrown me both literally and figuratively. One of those tools has served me well as I have moved from customer for the handy man to the actual "Mister Fix-A-Flat" himself, perseverance.
Sunday I set the repair in motion disconnecting the water lines and assuring I had no other leaks involved in the equation. From there I visited Lowe's and purchased a new faucet, and from there it was time to get some guidance and "next steps". I contacted my brother-in-law, who by the way is an amazing repair artist, to inquire about what I might run into that would require certain tools I might not have readily available. Glen made not only a list for me, but also provided me with two tote bags full of adjustable, crescent, open-faced, closed, and pipe wrenches. Also in one of the bags he included what probably turned out to be the most critical tool in the job, a basin wrench. To not get too technical, the basin wrench provides a flexible head that allows you to get into those tight spots where a wrench is necessary, but not able to be used due to the limited area to turn the wrench. That pretty much ended Sunday's portion of the job. Monday was a work day, and with no after work duties I was able to get started around 5:00 on my plumbing adventure. Let's just say things didn't really go the way I imagined they would from there. By the time 9:00PM rolled around I was about one tenth of a mile into my 26- mile plumbing marathon. I had made very little progress on disconnecting the current leaky faucet and I needed to finish up my evening tasks and hit the hay, so feeling frustrated and partially defeated the thought that I should just get out the old yellow pages and find me a plumber that would probably come in and knock this small job out in an hour or so really crossed my mind. The problem there was that the hour or so was going to cost me around $100.00-$150.00 minimum and I did not want to spend on a plumber when I knew exactly what needed to be done, but just was not getting it done!
After a restless night of dancing nuts and bolts in my dreams, I awakened with a new sense of resolve that told me I could do this thing. I used part of my morning routine time to perform a self-inspection of what I needed to do to get this job done. Of those, two items proved to be the difference makers. First, I concluded that I was going to need a new basin wrench. Glen's was a wonderful tool, but the one I saw online at Home Depot looked like it might serve me better for this particular job. So off to Home Depot I trekked before work on Tuesday. Much to my surprise, the associate at Home Depot, who was much more knowledgeable about plumbing than I, agreed with me and directed me to a $15.00 basin wrench. The wrench would prove invaluable, but the other Aha moment I had while constructing my day three strategy, is applicable in life as much as it would prove to be in this particular situation.
I called J.D. my son-in-law to see if he would provide me with an extra set of hands to hold down the faucet while I removed the faucet nut off the sink. This part of the job was not one that could easily be done by just one person. I needed a friend or the job would not be completed on day three. He agreed and that evening around 5:30 J.D. showed up and provided me with that extra layer of support that allowed me to keep tension on the faucet nut, which allowed me, armed with my new basin wrench, to remove the hard to reach, hard to loosen nut and eventually the leaky faucet. Not wanting to kidnap J.D.'s evening I thanked him for his help and recommended he head on to the house. The rest of the job was definitely a job for one person. "Who is this saying he can handle a repair like this on his own??" And that I did. The installation of the new faucet went smoothly and honestly without a hitch. I completed the rest of the task promptly and before you knew it, we once again had a fully functioning faucet with both hot and cold running water. (Thanks to our two district wide plumbers, Jack and Jackie, for teaching me the basics of plumbing hot's on the left, cold's on the right, and stuff in the pipes has to run downhill!) Job well done, I had completely forgotten that it was less than 24 hours ago that I was thinking about which plumber I could possibly schedule to alleviate my plumbing woes. Pumped and proud, I ran water through that faucet like never before, and with a broad smile beaming across my face!
Point to take away from my adventure in plumbing is this. We all face leaky faucets, broke down cars, broke down family members, health issues, financial matters, and even work related breakdowns, but none of these will get fixed if we give up. Just as I could not continue to allow the faucet to leak down on the cabinet's floor, we cannot expect that our own life situations will not damage our life and our relationships if we do not address the problem. Is that easy? More than likely not or you would have already corrected the issue. Is it something you will be able to do on your own? In my situation, I concluded that there's not much that I can do on my own. I called on both my brother-in-law and my son-in-law, and also had to request the assistance of the staff at Home Depot, but the job got done because I didn't give up on it, perseverance, and I sought out the help I needed to guide me through the process. Guess what? Regardless of who you have or don't have at your beckoning call for assistance we all have the opportunity to call upon our faith to see us through the leaky faucets of life. Psalm 55:22 gives us this assurance, "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you;" and Jesus offers to us all in Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Whatever you are facing, whatever your leaks look like in life, there is a "Fix-it-Man" that is ready to support you and see you through whatever life is throwing your way. He doesn't promise to remove your problems, He promises to carry you through your situations in life. I still had to fix my sink, it just made it all possible when I committed myself to being a little more gritty than that nut on my sink and when I called out for guidance and support.
Endeavor to Persevere!
Coach Carter
No comments:
Post a Comment