My Septic Is Backing Up - I'll Take The Best Rooter You Got

When sludge has infiltrated your leach field and your septic is backing up, the problem won't just go away. Today we'll consider some options that are available:

2 Corinthians 12:5-10 (NKJV) Of such a one I will boast; yet of myself I will not boast, except in my infirmities. For though I might desire to boast, I will not be a fool; for I will speak the truth. But I refrain, lest anyone should think of me above what he sees me to be or hears from me. And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

The sad thing is, our septic fiasco didn't just occur overnight. We had many "clues" that something was going on, but we just didn't know enough about the system to recognize the signs. We (me mostly because I do a majority of the yard work) thought the "puddles" in our backyard were due to "a particularly busy month". We didn't recognize the fact that other neighbors had their tanks pumped. We thought their systems were inefficient and they weren't using the "right" microbes to handle their waste. We even considered that it was a regular old plumbing issue. This was not unknown to us because even in California, pipes get clogged. So we called out plumbers to "roto-rooter" our pipes. This seemed to temporarily help, so we eventually got tired of calling the plumber (at $100+ a pop, we made the decision after a couple "visits"), and bought a rooter devise ourselves. We bought a nice one too. At $400, it would pay for itself in no time (and we would no longer have to wait to be fit into someone else's schedule). Our ignorance and zeal to "fix it ourselves" ended up hurting us in the end.

I'm sure you can already see the faith parallel. We have the same problems with our spiritual septic systems. We fail to recognize the signs that there's a growing problem. The off-colored jokes are no longer offensive. "R" movie sex doesn't cause us to avoid renting a movie or going to the theater. We consider gossip about another person as a way to help them. There are many clues. Additionally, we see other people performing maintenance on their systems and don't stop to think of our own situations…"Why is Johnny going to alter today? He must have a problem. I'm glad I don't have a problem, everything is just fine between me and 'The Man Upstairs.'" Or, finally, we try to fix things ourselves. We think we can clean up our own act so we will be "acceptable" to God (I'm curious to know if this one has ever worked for you…it has never worked for me). People, if your septic is backing up, you need to recognize you have a problem and you need to get it fixed. We'll talk about that tomorrow.

Blessings to you all.

Bill