Recently we experienced an unexpectedly busy 24-hour period, filled with one problem after another.
It began when JB discovered a leak in our basement, the second in a year, caused by a nail poking through the joist. By the next afternoon our plumber had repaired the faulty pipe and we enjoyed running water once more.
However, JB then discovered that the plumber had inadvertently knocked out electricity in the basement bathroom. So he grabbed a flashlight and started an investigation into this new issue.
As JB searched for the source of this second problem, our oldest daughter called from the emergency room where an ambulance had transported her. She’d fainted while shopping that morning! Her car still sat in the store’s parking lot and she needed a ride home. So we dropped everything, got our daughter, and drove her car back to her apartment.
At each point in this unfolding story we had a choice. We could have fumed over the
leak and the unfairness of this second flooding. We could have gotten angry at the plumber and taken it out on him. We could have panicked over our daughter’s dilemma, asking God why He allowed this to happen!
Perhaps due to years of experience, or more likely due to God’s grace, we managed to sidestep those pitfalls. While not easy or enjoyable, we passed the test (albeit imperfectly) by choosing our thoughts.
- We recalled the second law of thermodynamics, a universal law of science stating that all systems, if left to themselves, move from a state of order to disorder. As Isaac Asimov summarized, “All we have to do is nothing, and everything deteriorates, collapses, breaks down, wears out, all by itself.” In homeowners terms this means that things are going to break! It’s a fact of life and a law of the universe. To expect otherwise is illogical. So why get upset?
- We reminded ourselves that no one is perfect—neither the plumber nor either of us! Everyone makes mistakes, most often unintentionally. When we mess up we hope for grace rather than judgment from those we’ve offended. The plumber had no evil intent nor any reason to sabotage our basement bathroom. So why get offended?
- We remembered who’s running the show here. While God intended for us to live in a perfect paradise, Adam and Eve lost that privilege and handed the keys over to the devil. Ever since, Satan has proven himself to be exactly what God calls him: our adversary, the ruler of darkness, the prince of the power of the air, and the god of this world. God is not the grand puppeteer in the sky. We live in a fallen world, not the setting God envisioned. So we don’t blame Him for our problems. Christ enables us to overcome the devil’s schemes, just as the law of lift overcomes the law of gravity. But we individually exercise the option of rising above our problems.
In the end everything resolved. But most importantly, we managed to maintain our peace.
