Nothing is ever easy as it looks. You know what I am talking about. You watch those do-it-yourself TV shows and it looks so easy that after a trip to Lowes or Home Depot you are set to tackle whatever task is before you with confidence, except it is never easy and usually involves 2 or 3 more trips to the hardware store.
So it has been this weekend. I am not going to go on a rant, I actually like working on things. I like the challenge. When something brakes or doesn’t go like it should I take it as a challenge. The machinery has thrown down the gauntlet and challenged my manhood.
I remember years ago working on my Sportster 883. I noticed that the exhaust coming off of one of the cylinders was cold, meaning that the fuel/air mixture wasn’t firing. I took the bike apart trying to figure out what was wrong. After about two hours of extreme irritation, my Dad walked out and asked me if I had checked the spark plug.
There I was, sitting amidst a bunch of parts and my voltmeter, and I hadn’t bothered to check the spark plug. That was what was wrong and my Dad taught me a very important lesson that day; when attempting to diagnose a problem start with the simple and work towards the complex. Genius right? This simple lesson has since saved me countless hours of grief. Looking back I should have paid more attention to my Dad when he was working on things……
Except this past weekend I discovered another truth; if something you are doing is easy, you are probably doing it wrong or you have missed something. I know I’m not the first to come up with this, as nothing is new under the sun. I simply “learned” it the hard way.
The silver lining in the cloud is that repairing whatever usually involves the purchase of some new tool to fix what I have messed up. Hence, I have a LOT of tools.
Kind of like our lives, which are never easy – and if we are currently living on easy street this is simply a warning from God to be VERY vigilante. Something is wrong; we just haven’t figured it out what it is yet.
God does not intend for us to live easy lives. It is part of the challenge He has given us. Luckily for us He has provided a fantastic tool and a counselor to help us muddle through.
