March 7, 2023
I consider myself to be fairly mechanical and able to do small fixer-upper-type jobs. We had a need to replace the toilet in the small bathroom at the parsonage. Our church property maintenance guy had been really tied up and had not had time to get to the job. So I was in a town that had a Lowe’s so I decided to get a toilet and install it in the bathroom. I had repaired and installed a few toilets in my time so I thought that I would put the toilet in to help alleviate some of the stress on the maintenance man.
I got the new boxed toilet in the house. (I had forgotten how heavy these suckers are). I got the old toilet loose from the floor and was carefully taking it out to the back deck to get ready to throw it away. I was being very careful as I was carrying it through the house as it still had some water in the tank- thankful not the bowl. Of course, we had put one of those bowl cleansers in it a few days before I decided to work on it so the tank was one-half full of blue water. I didn’t want to spill blue water on the floor so I was being very careful carrying this very heavy toilet.
I reached the back door to go through to the deck. While carrying the heavy toilet I couldn’t see where I was going. I tripped over the threshold and the toilet and I started flipping around on the back deck. It hit me in the head, I skinned my knee and bruised up my elbow. I felt something wet on the side of my face and fearing that it was blood, I reached up only to discover that it was blue water staining my face. (I know that you are laughing as you get this mental image)
Once I stopped seeing stars from the bump on the head, I asked God to help me get up so that I wouldn’t have to call someone to come and get this toilet off of me. I didn’t want anyone to come and find me lying there with blood on my knee and blue toilet water on my face and neck. (My wife has tried to find the video that our security camera made of the event but it has “mysteriously” disappeared) God heard my prayer and helped me get up and scrub the toilet water off my face, neck, and hands and to bandage my knee.
I got the new toilet in with no problem. But I have decided to add plumbing to my established list of things that God has not called me to do. I have decided that painting, plumbing, and a few other things are tasks that I am going to stay in my lane and let the experts handle these things.
God has a definite calling on each person’s life. In order to discover what God is calling you to do you may have to discover what He is NOT calling you to do. So seek Him and ask Him to direct the paths that will keep you in the center of His will, It can keep you from winding up lying on a deck with a toilet on top of you and blood on your knee, and blue toilet water on your neck and face. Just saying – When you find your lane – Stay in your lane. I told our maintenance man about this and promised him that if he did not try to preach, I wouldn’t install any more toilets.
In love with Jesus – Gary Mimbs