Copyright 2002
In Romans 5:3, Paul tells us to "rejoice in our suffering, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance character; and character hope." After the events of the past few weeks, I'm convinced Paul had a point, not just about big time suffering like illness and loss, but even about everyday suffering. My revelation began early one morning in our guest bathroom. My son James was home from college with three of his buddies, and I was enjoying some quality time watching late night movies with the guys.
Then my son entered the room and said, "Mom, the toilet's overflowing."
I rushed to the bathroom. My husband Jim, who had gone to bed, heard the commotion and was already there. First, he pointed out to our son that the water needed to be turned off. I was so proud that he knew that. You see, my husband isn't much of a handyman, or at least I didn't think so. Maybe I just hadn't given him a chance though, and he possessed hidden talents. He always seems to hurt himself, so I don't encourage too many handyman activities.
As Jim turned off the water I got extra towels, and the mop and bucket. James snuck out of the room. He'd learned all he wanted to know about plumbing for the night. As I mopped, my husband plunged. That's when we learned something about plungers. Plungers have a lifetime. This one was at least 25 years old, the rubber was worn, and it no longer plunged. We had met a plumbing roadblock.
"Walmart's open." I said.
This seemed crazy, going off to Walmart at one o'clock in the morning, but that's where we found ourselves. Las Vegas is a 24-hour town, and even in the suburbs the roads still had plenty of cars. Where were they going? The parking lot at the fitness center was partly filled; cars were lined up at the Jack in the Box drive through; and Walmart's parking lot was almost full.
In the store we even saw a girl we'd taught years ago in Sunday school, a college-age young woman now. We had to introduce ourselves because she didn't recognize us. A week later I saw her mother in church. "Oh yeah, she said she saw these 'old people' in Walmart. She thought only people her age hung out at Walmart late at night and early in the morning."
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