Oh it all makes work for the working man to do…

I know I am a Baptist but this week, it has been a bit ridiculous.

“Why?”  I hear you ask.  Well, pull up a chair and let me tell you a story….

‘Twas on the Monday Morning the builder came to call

The drive was to be re-laid

Improving access for all

(go on, admit it, some of you have a certain tune floating around your mind)

Machinery delivered and building underway. 

Later that morning, I looked out from my office window to see the builder staring down a hole full of water!  We had our own baptistery and it was in our front garden!  Now I love a good baptism, but this was worrying.

A little while later, the builder knocked on our front door to enquire if we still had water in the house.  We had, but at a very low pressure. By the afternoon, the Water supply company had joined the builder in staring down a hole full of water.  As rapidly as the builders mate was baling it out, yet more water was filling it

I decided it was time to investigate what was happening.

It turned out, that the vibrations from the machine had caused a pipe to burst.  As soon as the hole was empty, they could find out which pipe and how to fix it.

A second water supply company person arrived, complete with more machines.

Work took place and, a couple of hours later, I looked from my office window to see two builders and two water supply company people staring down a hole.  I went down to investigate.

The water company people explained that they could only fix part of the leak.  There was an emergency crew on the way, who should be able to give us water over night and then another crew would come the following day to make a permanent repair.

More workmen arrived and sometime later the water was cut and then restored.  “Great”, I thought fully expecting that the driveway could continue.

How wrong can you be?

One of the water company men knocked on the door “really sorry” he said looking somewhat embarrassed.  “When we dug down we have found lead pipes and, according to law, we have to remove them.  We don’t have the clearance to do that so, another crew will be here tomorrow morning to sort it out.”

At least we had water, albeit at low pressure.

‘Twas on the Tuesday morning nobody turned up so

‘Twas on the Wednesday morning the next crew came along,

with pick axes and shovels

and radio music on

(apologies to Flanders and Swann)

A morning of digging. A lot of digging. Various men, at various times, stood staring down various holes.

Eventually, one of workmen came and knocked on the door.  “We cannot find the main” he told us.  “at some point, the main has been renewed and nobody updated the drawings.”

The road had to be closed and a main trench dug across the road to find the main   Another crew and traffic management would be needed and they could not do that until the Thursday morning.

‘Twas on the Thursday morning and the road crew have arrived…. And there it ends (for now).  The road crew are here and we await traffic management. 

Is there a point to this saga and my writing of it?

Yes, there is.

It struck me, as I have looked down several holes recently, we do not know what lies beneath the surface. All it took was a bit of vibration on the surface and, what was below burst with unexpected consequences.

I think it is the same with people.  We don’t know what lies beneath the surface.  The stored up hurts, rejections and pain.  We only find out when something on the surface causes a burst.

Jesus once said;

your words reveal what’s within your heart.

(Luke 6 vs. 45 – The Voice)

Someone else once said that Christians are like tea bags.  It is only when they are in hot water, you discover what is inside.  That is why the writer of Proverbs says;

Above all else, guard your heart,
for everything you do flows from it.

(Proverbs 4 vs. 23)

So, let me encourage you, to take care of what you allow to take root in your heart.  Meanwhile, I have to go traffic management have just arrived and there a quite a few men looking down a hole!