I went down the basement stairs to exercise…and stepped into a puddle of water.

Last week I told the tale of a leaking sump discharge pipe that left part of my basement a wet mess. I relayed how I quickly tightened up the loose connection, and proceeded to clean up the mess, and found myself grateful that it was not worse.

Three days later, there was an instant replay. The same joint I had “repaired” separated again. Once again, water was spewing all over, and my planned activities were disrupted by a plumbing emergency that required pipe repair and mess cleanup, followed by another drying out process. Plus, my confidence in my plumbing skill was shaken to the core by this apparent failure. And, Oh yeah, my patience got a little workout too.

What went wrong, you ask. I was asking the same question. I tore into the piping, tossed out the failed backup pump (which had never activated in twenty-two years), removed the main pump, and attempted to rebuild everything. First I rummaged through my box of spare parts and found most, but not all of what I needed. Of course, that meant a trip to Menards for some parts and plastic pipe glue; while the sump was slowly filling with water. Could I get it all back together before the sump overflowed?

With the newly purchased parts in hand, I began to re-assemble the whole works. I was about to use the old check valve, when I discovered that the flapper inside had broken loose. Arrrgghh! So that’s what caused the problem from the beginning. The flapper, loose in the valve body, plugged the pipe when the pump came on, and since the water could not be expelled, the pressure built up until the connection failed. That inferior piece of garbage went into the trash, and I found another check valve of superior quality in my spare parts box to use in the new piping configuration.

The new setup worked, and the sump was pumped out before it overflowed. There ensued another session with the wet vac, broom, mop, and sponge. And the fan of course. (Have you ever thought about how much fun it is to say “sump pump”?)

I’d like to slap the guy who first said, “Haste makes waste.”, not because it’s not a true statement, but because it’s such an obvious truth. Of course, I shouldn’t beat myself up too much, because the failure was not visible, but perhaps I should have spent more time trying to figure out why the connection failed in the first place.

The first faith lesson this time is the same as the last; my heavenly Father held my hand and guided my through this first-world crisis in a peaceful and productive manner. The greater lesson might be that quick fixes might best be avoided. The church that conducts a “Christian” seminar on how to (save money, save your marriage, save the world etc.) might fail to get at the root of all these problems, your heart and your faith. Taking a deep dive into scripture, prayerfully seeking to have God remold you into the person He wants you to be, and submitting to His will is more likely to be an effective cure for those earthly (and legitimate) concerns.

Maybe I forced this a little bit; trying to attach a message to the story. But this I know, God loves His own, and He cares deeply about everything going on in your life, Christian, whether it’s a leaky pipe, shaky finances, or an earthquake. And God is sovereign over all these things.

So, my basement is dry again, and God loves me. Can you guess which of these two things bring me the greater joy?