Flood
It’s been raining for what seems like several days in a row and I’ve been keeping a pretty careful watch on our basement. Nice basement. Finished. Carpeted. Full bathroom. Bose entertainment system. Wii gaming system. Leather couches. Washer & dryer. Furnace, etc.
It rained all night last night and three times I got up during the night to see if there was any sign of flooding. We had floods in the past and they are some of the most dreadful events we’ve had to deal with. Up to ten inches of stinky storm water. Water-logged everything. Hours and hours of pumping, mopping, extracting, bleaching, drying. And then there’s the humidity that rises from the basement into the rest of the house. And the stink. And these flies that only appear for these kinds of occasions.
…so, like I said, I got up and checked three times and Debbie checked again at 5:30 AM. Dry as a bone. Thank the Lord!!! So I got up at 7 AM, all happy and grateful, and bounded toward the basement to take a shower (right, I shower in the basement). I stopped dead in my tracks at the top of the basement stairs when, upon flipping on the stairway light, I saw the light reflected at the foot of the stairs. I was seeing TWO INCHES OF WATER ON THE FLOOR, AND IT WAS RISING!!!
My heart fell down the steps. I followed it and checked out the damage. The floor drain was bubbling earthy, storm-sewer water upward faster than our sump pump could ever dream of pumping. I shot around our huge, catacombed basement and found that the water had spread to every square inch.
My son Pete and I started to get what we could up off the floor. I was so frustrated that this was happening that I could feel my blood pressure drumming against my temples and my patience getting sucked from me. After barking out orders and getting short with Pete, I finally told him “Pete, if I get out of control and become a real jerk here, please just remember, it’s not you. I am just really frustrated.” He just replied with an “ooooooooookay?”
So I went and got two more pumps from the hardware store and all I can do now is wait for them to move the water out of the basement faster then it spews in. And I’m thinking…
…I’m not one to over-spiritualize the causes of things like this. Some might say that God nudges these events toward us to test us and make us stronger. I tend to think that it’s a matter of physics, not providence. When you dig a hole below ground, and water needs a place to go, the likelihood that it will find a temporary home under a house seems pretty high, especially when the water has no where else to go. Gravity plus pressure plus time equals soggy carpet. Nothing supernatural or metaphysical about it really.
But, I do think that times like these give me a chance to live out the transcendent power of Jesus’ teachings and example. In the moments when it’s most inconvenient and unlikely to act like Jesus, I have a choice to surprise myself and others with patience and kindness that are opposite of the normal attitude. In a day and age when the drama and mystery of healings and ascensions and other miracles seem rare, my greatest chance to do “even greater things than these” may come when I am presented with an opportunity to live out Jesus’ peace, even when it would be totally socially acceptable to be frustrated, impatient, and in despair. These moments might be the best chance for those around me to witness and experience the miraculous as it appears in me. That’s when hardship becomes a blessing, not so much to me, but to those around me.
God’s Word isn’t just physics. As a result of prayer or discipline, it doesn’t just flow down into me and Godliness flows out. He speaks His Word, both written and inspired, and it’s my choice whether I will catch it and drink it and pour it out on someone nearby. That’s a choice He allows me to make, and He won’t force it on me or cause me to react without the satisfaction of a decision well-made.
As sewer water rises and washing machines are ruined and the prospect of extra-hard work is added to my busy schedule, Heaven holds its breath in the hope that I might know the significance of my ability to choose to act like Jesus. God speaks His Word, hoping that I will embrace it and embody it in unlikely, off-guard-catching ways…that “they” might see this strange, attractive faith and glorify our Father in heaven.
The water has stopped bubbling up from the drains. Here I go…
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