Root of the Problem

Tree roots. That's right, those beautiful trees in our front yard caused the blockage in our drain. The fine roots (though one was at least 1/8") grow through the cracks in the sections of drain pipes and clog up like a giant hair ball.

We are so thankful to a friend of ours, who happens to be a plumber. He came over Saturday night and helped diagnose the problem, only to return Sunday afternoon with a crazy contraption that forces heavy cable out through the drain pipe and pulls out the clogs.


It was awesome that he came on a Sunday to fix it - and I am very grateful to his wife, knowing how frustrating it can be when your spouse is out on the only day of rest!

While the drains are clear for now, we'll probably need to add it to the list of routine maintenance you never think about when you buy a house. Ah, I'm not really annoyed, just relieved it's not serious and I can work on catching up on the mountain of laundry and dishes that has piled up. (Don't make meatballs when you won't be able to do the dishes - not a good mess!)

While I think about it, the little spiritual lesson I got yesterday seems even more profound now. The tiniest little slivers can work their way into the smallest cracks in our armor, and eventually block the healthy flow in our lives. Translation: bad habits might not seem like a big deal, but if you have 50 bad habits, together they combine to make us ineffective and stagnant.

Even if you work at clearing all the bad habits away in one fell swoop, the chances are that they will grow back unless you develop a new habit. For me the bad habits I can think of immediately are putting the TV on [for no reason], choosing the internet instead of my bible, playing before praying. Even doing chores rather than playing with my kids when they want nothing more. Sometimes we just need to do something more important.

LOL, I may be stretching the experience to get this lesson out of it! But it's still a lesson I need to learn.