We returned from a trip and found we had a broken kitchen faucet. No water spraying around, just a broken end to the spray hose. I called a local plumber who said they couldn’t come to replace the faucet for a week.

You don’t realize how much you use your kitchen faucet until you don’t have a kitchen faucet. Water had to be carted in from the bathroom, which isn’t super convenient. You don’t realize how much stuff is under that sink, until it’s sitting all over the counters. Dishes started piling up that weren’t able to be placed into the dishwasher. The week just got longer.

I’ve done plumbing and I knew that I could replace the faucet. But having water shoot around your house is intimidating. I knew I should just put in the stinking faucet and not wait for a professional plumber.

I bought a faucet, read the instructions, watched a couple YouTube videos and began the process. The hardest part of plumbing is the awkward positions. Laying inside a cabinet is amazingly uncomfortable. Reaching your arms to loosen or tighten bolts isn’t a natural position. But I kept going, got everything all set, and there were no leaks in the fittings. Then I found that a part was missing. The piece that connects the two ends of the spray hose was nowhere to be found. My plumbing fears were confirmed as water sprayed around under the sink.

Luckily, I found the part online, ordered it, and waited – while the stuff sat on the shelves, the dishes continued to pile up, and water continued to be carted. What if the part didn’t fit? What if I came back later to find an indoor kitchen pool? Maybe I should have just waited the week.

Well, the part came in, I finessed it into place, and water came out in the right places.

So how are Plumbing & Christianity connected? I’ve long felt that Christianity was a bit neurotic. We are saved by the grace of God, but…
We really should pray more. We should have our Bibles out more routinely. Going to church should be more regular. We’re safe — or are we? There’s nothing more we need to do or is there?

The Bible is awkward and hard to understand. Things we learn in the Bible make us uncomfortable. It seems prayer doesn’t always make a difference. Church doesn’t fit into our hectic schedules. We self-confirm our own fears.

Maybe we just need to walk the path, with a little help from our church, resources, and the support of others. Scripture sometimes makes more sense when we wait for the right pieces to fall into place. Even when it’s awkward, when we doubt, or when things seem out of place, it gets better when we persevere.

They are also related in that I tend to express the Lord’s name doing both.