Clogged Drain

 

We have poor soil here at the Whitely house.  It is chert, which is a fancy way of saying crumbly rock.  And we have a septic system which compounds the problem.  So, to relieve the pressure on the septic system, I water the grass in the front yard with the washing machine water, and I water the grass in the back yard with the shower water (both legal in Georgia.  It’s called gray water). But the back yard is higher than the drain, so I have a catch basin and a grinder pump to disperse the water over the yard.  But I had a problem with the pump a week ago and had to pull it out of the catch basin to repair it.  And I discovered that the pump, the check valve, and much of the piping were all clogged with gray hair.  Now my wife has a little bit of gray in her brown hair, but this was full-blown gray hair.  And since there are only two people who live in this house, that leaves me.  I spent all of a good Saturday afternoon cleaning out the clogged pump, check valve, and pipes.  Then I went to Lowe’s and bought a $5 shower drain strainer, which I should have done a year earlier.  And after the next shower, I cleaned off the awfulest glob of gray hair from that new strainer.  It’s strange that I never realized how much gray hair that I was washing down the drain until I got that strainer.  Hey, often in life, we don’t realize bad habits that have developed … little habits that grow out of hand.  Often it takes a good friend to confront us.  Paul said in Galatians 6:1, “Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.”  And right now, I am speaking to two people: someone who has been blinded to a growing fault, and someone else who is watching a good friend who is unaware of such a fault.  If I have touched a tender spot in your hurting spirit, please make a change in your life today.  Or, if I have brought to your attention such a friend who has a hurting spirit, please get involved.  Speak up.  Don’t remain silent.  It may get messy at first, but later, your friend will thank you.  And … the dear Lord will smile on your decision.