Today I managed to attempt to fix my tub faucet. It has been dripping again. This is slightly maddening because I just got it fixed- for the same reason- a few months ago. Yet here we are, the same problem all over again. This time though I decided instead of trying to get help that I would just try to do it myself. Now anyone who knows me knows that, well, there are better choices I could have made... Like hiring my 10 year old son, who knows more about tools than I do... At least he can name them all. I just say "I need that one tool that does the one tightening thingy..."
Anyway. Well, I have to give myself some credit and say that I got part of the way. I took the faucet off, found the problem- a washer that was totally trashed. I went to Home Depot and found the washer I needed. When I got home, things started to go a little wrong, as I temporarily forgot how to put it back together.
But I managed after several frustrating minutes to figure it out. That was the moment that time stood still. I was so excited. I had done it! I fixed it! By myself! I can do it after all! Just a little more tightening, a little more righty-tighty, and...SNAP! Ummm... What was that?! Uh... Uh oh... I don't think that was supposed to happen...
I righty-tightied too much. I noticed that immediately after the dreaded snapping sound it became suddenly very loose. It took me a minute to sink in, but when it did... I had broken the piece I was tightening, completely busting it off, now with some of the threads stuck in the pipe, unable to retrieve them... Oops...
Well anyway I ended up saying a few choice words, pounded the wall, got angry, and then I really wanted to break something. I couldn't believe it. I just kept saying to myself, this is why. This is why I don't fix things. This is why I don't take the time to learn tool names. this is why I don't mess with "reading the directions" or any of that self-assembly crap you get at the store. This is why we only buy store models as opposed to new. Because somehow, I know I will get frustrated at my lack of ability, or I will mess something up or worse break it. At the very least, it will take me all day just cause the instructions never ever make sense to me. Nope. I am no good, not cut out for this stuff, just a failure when it comes to this junk.
Isn't life funny sometimes? What I mean is, sometimes it takes moments like this for us to clearly see things. It is like, all of a sudden, a spotlight is right there pointing out something in your life, in your heart, that you have totally missed. In this case, I was reminded that sometimes, we have- I have- a tendency to take life into my own hands. When my life gets a bit of a leak, I will try to ignore it for a while. but the constant drip-drip-dripping will eventually get on my nerves. So then what do I do? Instead of calling Someone- the One who knows the correct way to fix my heart up right- I take the one tool, that does that one tighten-ey thing-y in my inexperienced hands, and just begin working. And then when I think I have fixed the problem, I just keep going, unaware that I am not doing something correct. I just keep righty-tightying. Until I hear that dreaded SNAP that results in a bigger mess than what I started with.
And then I still don't call Him, instead I just get frustrated, get mad... And the problem sits there. It is ironic how that works; in our own attempts we just make it worse... In our own power we do more damage than good...
Well, I see where I went wrong now, and I finally called my dad. He is due over tomorrow morning bright and early to help me. With his help, I am confident that my faucet will get fixed.
In the same respect, I have learned something else. At the end of the day, I am grateful for lessons like this, lessons that my Father gives me. He is the professional when it comes to life, not me... So I need to leave it- and all it's repairs- in His hands.
Call Dad - The Pipe's Broke!