Dave Dishman

I headed out to the back yard to replace a sprinkler head. Colorado is dry and many yards employ an irrigation system to keep grass green and plants healthy. Over the years I’ve gotten good at fixing sprinklers, and I assumed this job would take an hour or less.

I turned the system on to diagnose the situation. As I manipulated the broken head I noticed water bubbling up from the ground a foot away. Uh-oh, a bigger problem, likely a crack in the line feeding water to the head. I turned the system off and began digging. The wet clay soil clung to my shovel, my trowel, my feet and my hands. Quagmire best describes the hole I was digging. Then I discovered the problem. A huge root from a lilac bush grew over the line feeding the head and cracked the riser.

This discovery led to expanding the hole and removing a section of the root (2″ in diameter), in order to get to the line. Digging and chopping and cursing. After clearing the root I got to the damage. Next I ran to the hardware store for parts. They didn’t have exactly what I wanted, so I tried a connection I thought should work. Bad decision. When I eventually got everything put together and turned on the water, the pressure in the line blew the sprinkler head off. Back to the hardware store for the specific part.

In the meantime I discovered another hole in a drip line in the garden. I fixed that and refocused. I put the new pieces together, including a fresh head as I’d damaged the first one, tightened the clamp, and turned on the water. Glory! No leaks or explosions, just water peacefully spraying over the yard. My one hour job took two full afternoons.

That first morning I had written this verse in my journal: Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. I could have used divine help with my sprinkler. A simple fix turned difficult, time-consuming and costly. Life gives us days like this, but I certainly don’t want every day to bring similar frustrations. Away from the Lord all my education, building of career and gathering of goods turns to vanity.

I labored when a simple fix turned into two days of digging and running back and forth to the hardware store. As I go through life it’s much better to let the Lord in on the building process rather than face the quagmire of going it alone.

Psalm 127:1

Photo by MARIOLA GROBELSKA

I try to pray for my friends and family, but I’m often at a loss of what to pray. So I appreciate reading the prayers of those who’ve gone before me.

Paul once asked for prayer from a church in Thessalonica, and prayed for them in turn. His short prayer for these friends forms a meaningful guide for us today: May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.

Paul asks the Lord to aim the church’s attention toward God and his love, turning their heads away from the affairs of the world. Then he prays they would draw hope from Jesus Christ and stand firm in their faith.

Paul knew the challenges facing this congregation. He admonished those who were busybodies and others who lounged around in idleness. He urged them to not grow weary in doing good, leading me to believe they hesitated at times to live out their faith. Much like I do today.

So Paul prayed these no-nonsense lines. May we pray it for one other: Lord, direct our hearts to your love, and ground us in the steadfastness of Christ.

2 Thessalonians 3:5

Photo by Nik

The trees in my yard stand decked out in full regalia. I love the various shades of green formed into canopies cooling our back porch on hot summer days. I enjoy the whisper of wind through their leaves. Sitting quietly in their company nourishes my soul.

Proverbs describe certain words like a healthy tree: Gentle words are a tree of life; a deceitful tongue crushes the spirit.

The right words at the right time bring wisdom, healing, and vitality. When I make the effort, speaking with kindness and truth nourishes the people around me. Serious power exists in the words we express to one another.

I watched a podcast recently where Steven Bartlett, a popular interviewer in Great Britain, conversed with John Lennox, a highly respected professor and apologist for the Christian faith. At one point Lennox said to Bartlett, when I look at you, I see someone of infinite value made in the image of God. Taken back, Bartlett (who’s not a practicing Christian) smiled in appreciation. Lennox expressed a truth that struck Bartlett somewhere deep. His words brought life.

I pray the Lord works through my heart to produce life-giving responses in my daily interactions. How much better to be known as a person who speaks wisdom and vitality than a person with a sharp tongue.

Holy Spirit, control my speech and make my words a tree of life to someone I meet today.

Proverbs 15:4

Photo by Jan Huber

I sat with my mouth hung open watching A Thief in the Night in a crowded upstairs room in our church. The film depicts the days after Jesus returns and resurrects his followers, leaving everyone else behind. In the story a young woman struggles with the post-rapture world, lost and confused.

As a teenager I loved the movie. It was scary and made me think about what was coming. At that time the return of Jesus felt imminent, with the mess of the Vietnam war, drugs plentiful and hippies tuning in and dropping out.

But Jesus never appeared. Today this teaching rarely gets mentioned. All of us have more pressing issues to deal with. Two thousand years and nothing, so the idea is moot. But remember that a thousand years is like a day to the Lord, so it’s only been two God-days since Paul’s warning. Not much time at all.

Also muse on the fact that the Lord wants no one to perish but all to come to repentance, so he delays, waiting patiently for folks to find him.

What am I to do in the meantime? Maintain my faith, love and serve others, and make the way of salvation known to those around me. Look for Jesus and avoid the lullabies of the world.

The exact timing may be obscure, but the day of the Lord will eventually arrive.

1 Thessalonians 5:2; 1 Peter 3:8-9

Photo by Greg Rakozy