Stuff Happens, a fiction
I was no doubt destined to be a plumber. I had a friend whose family had a plumbing business, and while finishing school I worked there some weekends.
After I graduated school I needed a job, and I worked there to support my lifestyle, I was not planning on becoming a plumber but the more I worked at it, the more I liked learning about plumbing and the science of the plumbing industry.
I remember some of the learning experiences of doing plumbing work. One such experience taught me a great deal about the necessity of planning my work prior to the actual execution of the particular project.
We had finished a reclamation project on the 5th floor of a five story building which was originally a whiskey storage warehouse. We were doing all the necessary clean up. The other construction workers were cleaning up as well. We were lowering our tools and excess material down with an old original manual pulley arrangement that had been used in lifting the whiskey barrels up and down from the various floors. And with help from the crew on the ground we had finished our clean up.
Just then, a brick layer had come down from the roof where he had erected a brick penthouse. He inquired of our pulley arrangement and asked if he could use it. Of course we agreed and he then set about to lower his excess bricks down to his waiting partner on the ground. He cast the pulley rope down to his helper, who tied it off to his truck bumper. He had found an old whiskey barrel, and brought it and tied it to the rope on the other end of the pulley arrangement.
Then he proceeded to load the barrel with bricks. When he had finished with the loading of the bricks into the barrel he signaled for his partner to untie the anchor rope and let the barrel of bricks down slowly. The helper whose name was Raoul obliged, and released the rope from the bumper of the truck.
As he did this of course and holding onto the rope so as to slowly lower the bricks,not realizing that 400 pounds of bricks would jerk him off the ground immediately, Raoul who weiged no more than 140 pounds went sailing upward immediately. Then at the approximate ½ way point Raoul and the barrel met, giving Raoul cuts and abrasions about his chest and mid section. Upon hitting the ground, the bottom came loose from the barrel and all the bricks held it in spilled into a pile, while the barrel was left empty, And Raoul still in the air 5 stories up.
Gravity being what it is, Raoul who was still grasping the rope as his lifeline then began to descend quite rapidly and met the barrel again about ½ way down, this time giving him lacerations and bruises on his legs and buttocks. Still holding onto the rope for dear life Raoul fell into the pile of bricks, breaking both ankles and both wrists.
Upon hitting the bricks Raoul began screaming and crying for help as he then could not move. Then as he looked up, again to his surprise, the empty barrel came plummeting back down and fell directly on him again. We had to spend the rest of the day helping The bricklayer get Raoul out of the barrel. Raoul was carried to the hospital, and that is the reason we are having to fill out his medical condition for him so he will be able to submit the accident report to the insurance company..
Disasters occur daily, we were just doing what comes naturally, working, playing, resting, getting along with our lives, and then one day, the bottom falls out, we are left dangling, trying to hold on to what is left. Life has come to us with a surprise. Alzheimers happens, It becomes a part of our lives. We had no plan that included Alzheimers. Right in the middle of our plans, it happens, we are not ready for it, nor are we prepared for the turn our lives will take. But there are choices we now must make. How do we fight this fight. What does the Bible have to offer when trial and tribulation come to our door. We must search the scriptures and continue in our faith.
Billy Graham puts it this way. When something bad happen to us or to those we love, it’s natural for us to ask why God has let it happen. To be honest, we do not have a full answer to that question, nor does anyone this side of heaven. We live in a fallen, imperfect world, and life is riddled with sorrow and pain. As the Bible says about our years on earth, “their span is but trouble and sorrow” (Psalm 90:10).
The real issue, you see, isn't why bad things happen, but how we should react to them. Will we react in anger and bitterness or will we respond in faith and trust? Anger is a dead-end road–it only hurts us and those around us, and doesn't solve anything. But faith gives us hope–hope for the present and hope for the future.
When something bad happen to us or to those we love, it’s natural for us to ask why God has let it happen. To be honest, I don’t have a full answer to that question, nor does anyone this side of heaven. We live in a fallen, imperfect world, and life is riddled with sorrow and pain. As the Bible says about our years on earth, “their span is but trouble and sorrow” (Psalm 90:10).
The real issue, isn’t why bad things happen, but how we should react to them. Will we react in anger and bitterness or will we respond in faith and trust? Faith gives us hope–hope for the present and hope for the future.
We start with the obvious merits of simple positive thinking. In Philippians 4:8 the Bible instructs us in proper thinking: "And now, my friends, all that is true, all that is noble, all that is just and pure, all that is lovable and gracious, whatever is excellent and admirable—fill all your thoughts with these things" The characteristics of an optimistic mind-set include the ability to focus on the positive when the negative seems overwhelming. Very often the key lies in turning a problem into a challenge and then working to bring ourselves to equal the challenge.
When people are suffering, it is our responsibility to minister to them, care for them, pray for them, and comfort them. Those suffering in any way, need our love and encouragement.
Psalm 73:23_26 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
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