Living in the Northwest means getting wet.  At times it's just a light sprinkle of rain and we walk in it without an umbrella.  And then there are the times when the rain falls with greater gusto and we run for cover.  But, sometimes there is rain like the rain which came down Friday.  It was a torrential downpour accompanied by small hailstones.

Our church is a two story complex and there are drains in the concrete in front of each  door on the lower level.  During the rainy season those drains must be checked to be sure there in no debris blocking the little holes in the cover.  If they are blocked the water floods into the lower level rooms and it’s a real pain to clean up.

Knowing this, you’d think I would be diligent about checking the drains.  And … I usually am.  However, on Friday I casually glanced at the drain in front of the kitchen door and thought to myself, “That drain looks a little suspicious.  I better check it out.”  But, I got busy with other things and neglected to do what I knew I should do.

About an hour later we were blessed that torrential downpour I mentioned earlier.  I sat in my home office watching it come down and suddenly stood straight up with the uneasy awareness that I’d better go check that drain by the kitchen door.  (The known problem area.) Grabbing my umbrella, I fought through the storm and made my way to the upper level where I could see that drain.  Sure enough, it was plugged and the standing water was at the threshold.

I rushed downstairs, fearing what I would find, and waded right into the “flood.”  I threw the exterior kitchen door open and reached for the drain cover.  Lifting it up cleared the obstructions and the water went gushing down the drain.  “That’s great,” you may be thinking.  But the reality was that the kitchen, a classroom and the entry were flooded and I was going to have to clean it up.  Which I did.

Here’s the point:  Had I paid attention to the obstruction in the first place I wouldn’t have had to deal with the task of mopping up the flood water and cleaning up the mess. 

Do you see the spiritual lesson here?  There are areas in our life that need constant attention and if we are neglectful of those areas we will end up with a big mess.  The Holy Spirit faithfully warns us of “obstructions” but if we shrug it off like I did we will surely regret our stupidity!  The smart Christians obey; the dumb one cleans up the mess!!

By the way, they tell me if a person lives in this climate for more than three years they grow webbing between their toes.  I keep checking but so far my digits are still separated!