Living Water

September 28, 2016 Wrong sized fitting. I'm not surprised. When told that connecting to the new water system would only take about a half hour, my response was, "That's not good. A fifteen minute job usually takes about three days, in my experience." I'm still hopeful that it won't be more than a couple hours, but already Tony had to go to Home Depot for the correct sized fitting. Then it has to be assembled and tested for leaks, both in the house and at the curb. Oh well; we're closer today than we were yesterday, and I've been in countries where a project like this would take weeks, just because the necessary materials weren't available at any price. That being said, I'm thankful to live where the water is safe to drink, where the supplies needed to tap into it are readily available, and where I have friends willing to help get us up and running. Flash update! After a 40 minute run to Home Depot, it appeared as if Tony had been given the wrong fitting again, but it turned out he had what he needed right from the start, so the extra run was for nought. All was connected, we went to the curb valve only to discover that the valve wrench wasn't long enough to reach through the extension casing on the new system. A little digging and unscrewing the extension exposed the valve, but its cover was offset so I had to dig some more and completely remove the casing before I could turn the valve. The sound of rushing water was glorious, and there were no leaks. It wasn't quite a half hour job, but it wasn't three days, either, which is reason enough to give thanks to God and Tony tonight. Jesus claimed to be the Living (or flowing) Water, and said that the Holy Spirit he would give would be a fountain springing up within us. Here in the Northeast, we tend to take water for granted, having the world's largest supply of fresh water in the Great Lakes, and enough rain to keep the wells filled most years. The creek behind our house never runs dry, but having it piped into the house is a luxury many cannot even imagine. The water is available, but I wonder what valves we have turned that keep it from filling our lives and homes with blessing. It is possible to stop the flow to our house, and it's possible to stop the flow of the Holy Spirit to our lives. I think it wouldn't be a bad idea to do a little run through the system to make sure all the valves are opened wide.