drano.

Drano.

I’m rarely home. This thing we called life takes me many different places that it’s insanely rare for me to watch a TV show on my actual television at the actual time it debuts. I sleep, eat breakfast and the odd dinner and that’s pretty much the time I’m home…ok I do shower on occasion. I’m not complaining. I’m blessed to do what I do and He enables me to do it and I really do love my life.

…Just sometimes my dishes pile up. Let me clarify: as in dishes I mean 4 cereal bowls at maximum. And my dad…he’s a little different. I love him but he doesn’t like dishes in the sink, fair enough, it’s his house. So on Friday afternoon I started to do the dishes. As I viewed the initial water coming out of the faucet, I noticed it was draining terribly slowly. Of course I couldn’t even start washing dishes until I found the blockage! (me procrastinating from the real job)  So I discovered some dirt blocking some of the holes and the first thought that came to mind was DRANO!

Of course Drano fixes everything.

I proceeded to run downstairs and grab some Drano. It was the Max-Gel kind. I poured half of it down the drain and let it work its magic.

20 minutes later I peered in and tested the water. Nothing happened. I poured in the remainder of the bottle and waited.

20 minutes later… still running slowly. Then I had the brilliant idea of hacking at the dirt build-up with a knife. I managed to break it up but as soon as I turned on the water it proceeded to stay in the sink. So not only did I have a slow drain, I had a quarter of the sink filled with dirty water that was not going anywhere. The only solution I could think of? More Drano! I tribute my brilliant thinking to the fact that the fumes had made me a little loopy…ok, sometimes I’m just really blonder than I pay to be (thanks Beth Moore!)

So off to the store I went to pick up some more Drano. I quickly located one that was foam & liquid…how amazing! So fully believing that the Drano would do the trick I poured the magical liquid into the murky water. And I waited.. I went for a run in the mean time and had a shower.

I excitedly approached the sink, fully believing that the Drano would have worked. No dice. The sink was still murky and the water didn’t go down one bit and to add a little salt to the wound, my whole house smelled like chemicals. I texted my friend who is a plumber and simply asked is Drano is the solution for a plugged sink. He called me back immediately and said, “No, don’t use Drano. You have to plunge it.” My heart sunk as my dad walked through the door that minute not only seeing a countertop of dirty dishes, but a sink full of murky water as well. Thankfully he said he would plunge it.

Eventually the water went down (after 10 hours!) and our drain is good to go but it made me think of something and alas a new blog entry! (I know it’s been ages, I’m truly sorry.)

Sometimes this is how we see our faith. Sin gets in and clogs up certain areas of our lives. We see it, like how I saw the initial dirt and we freak out and know we want it gone. But getting rid of it seems like so much work, and we seek a quick solution i.e. Drano. In my own life I have had situations where I have quickly repented at that one camp, that one conference, that one church service, but didn’t actually turn away from the sin and eventually I found myself with the exact same problem. The Bible calls us to repent (“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.’” Matt 4:17) 

Don’t just use that quick solution, that one camp, that one conference, that one church service to get you back on track. A quick solution will not sustain. Identify sin, repent from it and really truly turn away from it, and begin to walk with God in real relationship. And it may take hard work. Let me change that, it will take work. But you will reap the benefits. Reading His Word. Seeking Him. Talking to Him. Serving Him. Worshiping Him. All these things will take time & effort & work. But the joy, the peace, the love, the relationship you will discover is worth it all.

“Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. ¹⁴ I will be found by you…”- Jeremiah 29:12 & 13

stay gold,

s.s.♥.