Wet, Very Wet

At a power plant things are manufactured to last. It just makes sense to build stuff that is going to hold up over time, especially when not having it working can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars an hour. When things are new everything runs like a dream, like it was designed, and everyone wins. Over time, however, even "industrial strength" components fail. Either from misuse, overuse, or not using it at all equipment breaks down. In a corrosive environment even things made out of the most durable of materials fail; wire insulation gets brittle and cracks off, terminal strips rust away, pipes explode, motors burn up...It's no surprise that these things happen, after all, it's not like people haven't seen it before. The funny thing is that in spite of this awareness everyone is seemingly still caught off guard when things break. With most things, you find out its broken when you need it most, but with other things it's like getting hit by a meteorite while reading your morning paper. Today became just that sort of day when a wire in a "deluge system" shorted out setting off, well, setting off a deluge. Nothing like running up 12 stories of steps in the middle of a "deluge" only to find no signs of a fire (I think that guy's still pissed). Of course you can't turn off the water to go investigate the fire because you might get there and find a fire... Today I got to fix a wire in a dripping coal tower, and all the while I was thinking about how ironic it was that they never thought to replace that wire occasionally considering the abuse it takes. Think 23 years hanging in the open air around hot vibrating equipment, often getting wet and baked in an alternating fashion and never once being replaced. I think I'd snap too.

Afterward (while I was taking our company van to get gas and a car wash) I thought about how my faith is like that. There are aspects of my faith that I set up years ago and think I'll just always have that if I ever need it. So I don't work on it or think about it for a long time until something explodes. Sometimes it's internal, sometimes everyone gets to see, in both cases it involves pain and some dirty cleanup work. Then on top of that there's the temptation to just put a bandaid on it and limp along with things still half broken instead of putting in a little more time and effort now to fix things right. What I think this boils down to for me is consistency, or more accurately inconsistency. Consistantly choosing to work on things, choosing to search things out that might be about to explode and ruin everything. I think this is what David is talking about when he prays "Examine me, O Lord, and try me; test my mind and my heart." It's healthy to get a checkup from the "great physician" even when everything seems fine. For the record, this is not how I roll most of the time. I'm all about waiting for the outward sign of the internal cancer. I think it takes a humility I don't currently have within me to daily go before the Lord in a posture of needy brokeness. More likely I use the Lord like a pez dispencer of grace. I don't do regular maintanence, I just repair the things that are already broken. I to often wait to call on the Lord until I feel like I need Him (I know...I know).

I don't know how this ties in just yet, but I have spent the last week reading and rereading the book of Joel. In it's own agrairian way it's a miniature gospel tucked away at the end of the Old Testament. Here are some exscripts...

1:6-7 "For a nation has invaded my land, mighty and without number; It's teeth are the teeth of a lion, and it has the fangs of a lioness. It has made my vine a waste and my fig tree splinters. It has stripped them bare and cast them away; their branches have become white."

2:11-13 "The Lord utters His voice before His army; Surely His camp is very great, for strong is he who carries out His word. The day of the Lord is indeed great and very awesome, and who can edure it? "Yet even now," declares the Lord, "Return to Me with all your heart, and with fasting, weeping and mourning; And rend your heart and not your garments." Now retuyrn to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness and relenting of evil."

2:25 "Then I will make up to you for the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the creeping locust, the stripping locust and the gnawing locust, My great army which I sent amoung you."

2:28 "It will come about after this that I will pour out My spirit on all mankind."

2:32 "And it will come about that whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be delivered..."

I started to think of the different kinds of locusts as the different kinds and consequential effects of sin in my life. Ultimately these took away a great deal of my life, and if allowed would come and do it again. The "very awesome" part of the story is that God not only takes away my yoke of slavery to sin and restores me to health, but He also "pays me back for the years lost." I guess what I have been awed by these last few days is the redemptive depth of God's power and grace, and how it fits with my own irregularity, my own inconsistency. I think there are some aspects of God's work in our lives that are easier to point to than others; Several times He lists qualities in scripture that we should grow in over time, but some are more hidden. One I have found recently is that walking with the Lord over time is making me more consistent, more dependable, more reliable. I'm not saying I don't have a long way to go, but these are qualities He has and as we walk with Him, it's Him we become like. When we look at Christ we see ourselves more accurately.

Softball

This past weekend I put together a team last minute to play in the Denny Buehler Memorial Softball Tournament. It's a benefit co-ed tournament played at Spoils Field in Green Hills; this year there were 14 teams. The two great things that happened were one, that we were able to get a team together, and two, that no matter how awful your team is your guaranteed two games. Of course my team lost our first two games making a hasty exit from the bracket, but in spite of being run ruled I think everyone had a really great time playing. It's just a wierd atmosphere were winning isn't so important (this is very easy for losers to say) as showing up and being part of the community. Almost everyone who comes understands pretty quickly that its a lot more about having a good time and raising money for a good cause than it is about winning. I think that's why you see a lot of people sticking around Saterday after they're out and even coming back Sunday. Most of the teams that participate are many time alumni of the tournament, and it seems like everyone knows everyone. I've only been coming around for a few years and I already feel like I know a lot of people. Now that it's a little less daunting I am planning on organizing a team to play every year.

This year for me maybe the best time I had was late Saterday night after all the games for the day where over. Lot's of people are left drinking beer and haning out, and a few of us were going around picking up empty cups and stuff when I looked out on the field and saw Peg and a bunch of kids running around with a tennis ball and a wiffle bat. I realize now that this group of 8-10 kids had just hung out all day and watched their parents play a game they couldn't. Now it was thier turn. So Ed, one of his cousins, and I dropped our stuff and went out and played a little 3 inning game with them. It was awesome because all of them could hit the ball somewhat if you pitched it to them enough times, then Ed, Cousin, Peg and I would just chase them around the bases making errors and letting them score. Eventually we would get the old kids out and then it would be our turn to bat. Our general policy was run until you score or you're out with a couple exceptions. I don't know at what age your priority becomes hitting and not playing the field, but these kids weren't that old yet because I think they had just as much fun chasing us as being chased. In the end everyone was a champion.

For more on the tournament visit here.