A Good Plumber

I woke up yesterday morning needing a good plumber.  I had just got back home from 4 weeks on the road.  My wife had already departed for her chemotherapy treatment.  I had slept in catching up on the sleep I needed after all the time on the road.

I needed to find a good plumber.  I wondered how could I find one.  My wife had made suggestions, and I could always just look in the Yellow Pages.  No, I thought to myself, I needed a good plumber and I needed one quick.  I prayed to God to help me.  I could do this myself, but I was having difficulty concentrating on the task with all the other worries I had.

Suddenly thoughts flooded my mind on how I was to find a "good" plumber.  I was to go to a church and seek him there.  I decided I had better take a shower and get cleaned up first, but no, it was almost as if God was instructing me to go now, go quickly.  Which church Lord, which specific one should I go to?  The answer I got was that the choice was mine, choose any.  I decided to go to the closest one nearby that I knew how to get to.

Off I went on my mission from God.  My mind was racing as I pulled into the parking lot.  After some difficulty, I located a parking spot I was allowed to park in close to the church office.  I walked up to the door, but the door was locked.  Off to the side, I noticed an intercom box with a camera.  I pressed the button.  The lady answered on the other side of the intercom: "We do not have money to give you and we can't help you."

I was thinking that this was not a good start.  I pressed the button again.  "Yes?" was what I got back.  "Look," I said, "I am not here for charity."  I grabbed my wallet and opened it up for her to see the money inside.  "I am not homeless, I have money.  I am not asking for charity.  Do you have a sense of humor?"  "Yes." was the reply I got.  "Do you believe in miracles?" I asked.  The answer was "Yes".  "Well it is a miracle I am here.  And I am also trying to create another miracle, I am trying to find a good plumber.  I just need a referral. I can pay them."

I ended up being allowed inside the door.  What ended up happening is that I was handed the Yellow Pages.  As I opened up the Yellow Pages they handed me, I spoke:  "I need help.  I prayed to God and God sent me here."  From behind me I heard someone say "Whatever".  I broke into tears and handed the Yellow Pages back and rushed out the door.  Still trying to choke back the tears I jumped into my car headed for home.  I was thinking why did God send me there, why was it so important for me to go there if the answer to my problem was not there to be found.  Why God, why?

As I started to cross the parking lot, I spied a man resting under a shade tree on the property.  I parked my car and went up to the man and asked him "Do you know a plumber that could use some work?"

To make a long story short, I ended up finding a good plumber.  I am not impossible to please, but I am pretty hard to please, and the plumber I found was perfect.  Praise God.  Why was it important that I listen to God and go immediately without first taking a shower?  Because the man resting under the tree would have finished his rest and been gone if I had taken the shower.  God sent me to the church, and while the answer to my needs was not to be found inside that church, the answer was found at the location I chose to go to resting under the shade of a tree there.

How good was the plumber that God helped me find?  When the plumber told me how much he was going to charge, I told him I was not going to allow him to do the job for that price.  If he was going to get the job, he was going to have to be willing to be paid more.  Praise God.