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