Life’s Schematic

August 15, 2018

Trying to figure it out in my head just doesn’t work. I tried it, and now have to go back (literally) to the drawing board. Remodeling projects have a way of sneaking up behind you with the unexpected and smacking you alongside the head. When the walls are opened up, you find all sorts of nasty stuff lurking in the shadows. In Matt’s case, a lot of it was out in the open...sort of. Like today, he showed me the downstairs toilet which instead of being secured with a regular toilet flange, was bolted through the floor to a pair of disc brake pads on the underside of the sub flooring. The former owner was a master of make-do!

The plumbing is a hodge-podge of copper tubing; not code-approved copper pipe; the tubing is a mixture of half inch, three-eighths, and sometimes back to half inch again, cobbled together by an assortment of fittings, but no shut-off valves. We decided that as long as we were remodeling the bathroom and adding an upstairs shower, this would be as good a time as any to replace the entire system with the right stuff. So this morning, I trolled the internet to find out what I needed to know about installing a Pex system before going out and buying the needed fittings. 

I had drawn up a rough diagram of the system, but missed a few items. So tonight, it’s back to the drawing board. 

Life is like that. Trying to figure it all out in my head just doesn’t work. I need a schematic—a map that lays out before me what I need to get the job done. Fortunately, I have such a map. It’s called the Bible, and it points out the pitfalls as well as showing me the connections, joints, and turns I need to make. It saves me from many a do-over, and makes the business of life go much more smoothly. I am thankful tonight for the old Book, and for the wisdom, grace, correction, and hope it has given me for most of my life. I don’t have to try to figure everything out on my own, and that’s a good thing!