Have you ever gone on a God Hunt? A God Hunt begins when you teach yourself to look for God’s hand at work in the everyday occurrences of your life. Here’s one of my personal God Hunt Sightings:
The faucet has been dripping, and part of the problem is that I bought a cheap faucet, so I’m not so sure that a plumber will be able to fix it. Decorative plumbing like burnished bronze faucets seem to have a limited shelf life (at least their replacement parts do). “Nope, lady. Can’t get that part anymore!” These are words I’ve heard all too frequently.
Dripping things, watery hoses and pipes and tubular lines, seem to exist to frustrate me. I can’t remember the plumber’s instructions, upon installing a new water heater, as to how to drain it (which needs to be done once a year). I attached a short garden hose (a “boat hose”—whatever that is) onto the nozzle, but my memory and the water heater instructions were absolutely no help. I vaguely recalled needing to turn of the pilot light, but I could not figure it all out.
In addition, the 50-gallon water container we keep in the basement for those emergencies when the power goes out—which it does frequently since we and some 100 other customers have become an association bound by the fact that we live in the area of one of the oldest electric grids in our little town of West Chicago, Illinois—that tank had been emptied. The hose (another hose) I had purchased to run from the basement sink to the hole in the top of the container could not be screwed onto the faucet or onto the shower head. This water storage tank (and the rain barrel outside) are important to us since we are on a well and when the power goes out, the pump dies and we have no water for flushing toilets, taking baths, brushing teeth or washing up.
The kitchen faucet has been dripping for two weeks, leaving a rusty stain all over the porcelain sinks. It seems to be dripping faster and faster. “Better get that fixed,” said one of my sons, explaining how exactly that might be done (yeah, right, like that’s going to happen). “Nina, your faucet is dripping,” warned a grandson. “Better get that fixed.”
So when my daughter came out of her new house as we were getting ready to drive home carrying a new burnished bronze faucet and asked, “Can you use this? It doesn’t work for us. It’s new and I paid a couple hundred dollars for it,” I felt that I was being amply rewarded for two days of my volunteer efforts.
The first chance, I called Precision Plumbing and two plumber guys were at my door this morning, 8 o’clock sharp. “While you’re here,” I wondered aloud, “can you show me how to drain the water heater?” In an hour the two plumber guys were gone. I had a really nice new faucet on the sink—obviously the dripping had stopped. In addition, I realized draining the water heater had nothing to do with the pilot light but everything to do with turning off the water valve. A simple flat head screwdriver turned the drain valves on and 20 minutes turned the drain valve off. Job done. How simple was that?
In addition, my 50-gallon water tank had been filled. A simple turn of the washing machine’s shutoff valve and unscrewing of the hose connector enabled us to hook up my laundry-room hose. The emergency water tank was now filled, and I was set to fill it by myself the next time it became empty.
Altogether, this had become a satisfactory early morning—water heater drained, sink faucet replaced, water storage tank filled, big plumber’s check written (but I had the money, which is saying something)—on the whole, huge progress. While rummaging in the furnace room where the water heater is, I even replaced the furnace filter, noticing that my chart on the clipboard, a system I created to remind me, indicated I had last done this task on August 12. This is supposed to be done once a month.
Jobs done. Perhaps, to some, this is silly, but when material physical progress of this kind occurs at any time, in any way, I give thanks to God (it is rather a sigh of great relief this prayer of thanks). A new faucet to replace the old, help and advice from experts, the oh-I-can-do-that-myself feeling, nothing falling apart around me, tasks needing to be done now done. Life is good.
I give thanks and tell people how God bends near and helps me move through the sometimes arduous mazes that everyday life can become. Just to make sure, I note this help in my prayer journal, this practical hands-up that makes days easier, and I am telling you. “My tongue will talk of thy righteous help all the day long.” Psalm 71:24a.
I spy God!
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Award-winning author Karen Mains has long had an interest in spiritual formation and the obedient Christian walk. She has written about the God Hunt in her book by the same name, The God Hunt: The Delightful Chase and the Wonder of Being Found. A hardback copy can be ordered from Mainstay Ministries for $10.00 plus $4.95 shipping and handling. Contact Karen at info@mainstayministries.org and she will be happy to autograph a copy for you.
Karen continues to write content for her Christian blog, “Thoughts-by-Karen-Mains.” In so doing, she desires to touch the lives of Christian women and men and help them find ways to walk closer with the Lord Jesus Christ. In addition, through silent retreats, spiritual teaching, women’s retreats, Christian vacation opportunities, and other ministry activities, Karen helps each Christian woman and man receive vital spiritual food.
Through her Hungry Souls ministry, Karen serves as a spiritual coach to many Christian women and men, and teaches a mentor-writing class. And, through the Global Bag Project, she is working to develop a network of African women who sew exquisite cloth reusable shopping bags, Africa bags. This micro-finance women opportunity helps provide a much-needed sustainable income for struggling African families. For more information on this critically important project, please click here.
For decades, Karen and her husband, David, have served God through religious communications—radio, television, and print publication. They are the co-authors of the Kingdom Tales Trilogy: Tales of the Kingdom, Tales of the Resistance, and Tales of the Restoration. To find many valuable resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries main website, please click here.
Likewise, pastors will find special resources to help them prepare effective, life-transforming Sunday sermons by visiting David Mains’ website by clicking here.
