I woke up the other morning to the sound of falling water. To those of us in the Northstate in the throes of summer heat, this is a pleasant sound indeed. However, as I became more cognizant, the sound became a little more distinct, and had a certain rhythm to it, like a Rainbird sprinkler. Now this was NOT a good sound, since that particular station started at three in the morning and was supposed to run only fifteen minutes. It was now 6:30 a.m. Though we had been taken off water restrictions this year, I was still disturbed by the pooling of water that had taken place. Needless to say, my mental abacus was also calculating the cost of that water.
Now I am not plumbing deficient. I know a thing or two about PVC pipe and connectors, so I ran out to the sprinkler valves, saw the culprit, twisted a few knobs and heard the solenoid make that definitive sucking sound that meant the valve had closed. Safe. Or so I thought.
I then left for my day’s worth of activity and meetings only to return at 4 p.m. and be greeted by . . . yes . . . you guessed it . . . those same sprinklers running. Now I had ponds–not pools–and the mental calculations were already telling me that I would have to give up showering, laundry, and dishes for a month to recoup both water and money.
I now did what I should have done in the first place. Stop the bleeding. I turned off the water to the back yard. Then I did the second smartest move of the day . . . I called my father. Now I figured I could change out the valve . . . it looked pretty straight forward, and I had watched him change a few in my lifetime. The conversation with my father, as he walked me through the process, confirmed that I would have been 80% correct. But then he gave me the best advice of the day. “Have your gardener do it for you. He does this all the time.”
At times, many of us encounter valve trouble of a very different kind–an emotional or spiritual heart valve problem. Despite our weak attempts to fix it, sometimes we can’t stop the hurt or bitterness or doubt from seeping in, or we shut off our heart to others completely. At other times we open ourselves to temptation but shut out grace and mercy.
However, we do have a Father to call upon, a Master Gardener, a Great Physician, who has experience at mending broken and dysfunctional hearts. I just heard the new version of “Just As I Am” by Travis Cottrel. The verses are still the wonderful old hymn, but the new chorus adds a beautiful new dimension:
I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am
To listen to the full version of the song, just copy the link below into your browser. And if you are suffering from a broken heart, may you be healed and blessed.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=new+version+of+just+as+i+am
Now I am not plumbing deficient. I know a thing or two about PVC pipe and connectors, so I ran out to the sprinkler valves, saw the culprit, twisted a few knobs and heard the solenoid make that definitive sucking sound that meant the valve had closed. Safe. Or so I thought.
I then left for my day’s worth of activity and meetings only to return at 4 p.m. and be greeted by . . . yes . . . you guessed it . . . those same sprinklers running. Now I had ponds–not pools–and the mental calculations were already telling me that I would have to give up showering, laundry, and dishes for a month to recoup both water and money.
I now did what I should have done in the first place. Stop the bleeding. I turned off the water to the back yard. Then I did the second smartest move of the day . . . I called my father. Now I figured I could change out the valve . . . it looked pretty straight forward, and I had watched him change a few in my lifetime. The conversation with my father, as he walked me through the process, confirmed that I would have been 80% correct. But then he gave me the best advice of the day. “Have your gardener do it for you. He does this all the time.”
At times, many of us encounter valve trouble of a very different kind–an emotional or spiritual heart valve problem. Despite our weak attempts to fix it, sometimes we can’t stop the hurt or bitterness or doubt from seeping in, or we shut off our heart to others completely. At other times we open ourselves to temptation but shut out grace and mercy.
However, we do have a Father to call upon, a Master Gardener, a Great Physician, who has experience at mending broken and dysfunctional hearts. I just heard the new version of “Just As I Am” by Travis Cottrel. The verses are still the wonderful old hymn, but the new chorus adds a beautiful new dimension:
I come broken to be mended
I come wounded to be healed
I come desperate to be rescued
I come empty to be filled
I come guilty to be pardoned
By the blood of Christ the Lamb
And I'm welcomed with open arms
Praise God, just as I am
To listen to the full version of the song, just copy the link below into your browser. And if you are suffering from a broken heart, may you be healed and blessed.
https://www.google.com/?gws_rd=ssl#q=new+version+of+just+as+i+am
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