April 9 – “The Power of the Plug”

I got quite winded yesterday.  It had to do with our lawn mower.    Spring has definitely arrived here in Galveston.  The periwinkles are once again beginning to battle with the dollar grass for supremacy in the front flower bed.  The two new sycamore trees have leaves, and one even has a collection of those little sycamore balls that are great for craft projects and target practice.  Chris has planted three new rose bushes, and our water bill is steadily rising.  And the grass is growing in front and back.    Which means the weekly chore has also returned: mowing the grass.  Now I don't really mind mowing the grass.  It's one of my quirks, I guess.  I don't particularly mind vacuuming either.  Sweeping is pushing it some.  And picking up whatever has been swept is way beyond my comfort level.  But this year we have a problem.  Our lawn mower is getting tired.  It's the one we got from Josh when he decided he was never going to mow again and hired a lawn guy.  (Which lawn guy he hired is another story, as is the pregnant neighbor lady who mows their grass now that they live in San Antonio).  His mower has served us well, but at the end of last year it got cranky.  Oh, it still cut the grass, it coughs and sputters in the process and uses lots of gas.  Sadly, that malady did not miraculously cure itself over the winter.  I changed the spark plug, but that didn't help.  Yesterday I was hopeful.  I added fresh oil.  Things always get better with fresh oil, don't they?  I tightened up the cap, pushed that little red "push 3 times" button.  And I pulled the rope, expecting great things.  Not even a sputter.  Not to be deterred, I pulled again.  And again.  And again.  Even last year during its worst days, it would always start fairly easily.  Maybe I didn't pull hard enough.  I pushed the magic red button again.  I pulled again.  And again.  And again.  Nothing.  Maybe I need to push the button more than three times.  I tried that.  And pulled.  And pulled.  And pulled.  It teased me with an almost start once, but quickly reverted to nothing.  I don't remember how many times I attempted to kick it into gear.  I just know I'm pretty sore in those tugging muscles this morning.  I finally gave up and wheeled the beast into the front yard.  Chris asked where I was going.  I told her that Nathan told me he had a friend who fixes lawn mowers.  I was going to take it over to Nathan's house and trade out mowers with him so he could get it to his buddy and I could get our yard mowed.  She reminded me that he was at work and that he might want to mow his own grass this weekend.  I suggested that since he knew someone who could fix it, he would be in a much better place than I was.  She wasn't too impressed with my logic.   When I got to the front I tried one more time to crank it up, but it still adamantly refused.  So I rolled it over to the truck and got out my screwdriver.  That's how I get the tailgate down.  The latch on one side refuses to move all the way out of the way when I pull up the release, so I have to push it open with a screwdriver.  But that's another story.  As I heaved the mower up onto the truck, which took every remaining ounce of energy I had, I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.  No, surely not.  It couldn't be that simple.  I pulled the machine over closer to me and examined it more closely.  It couldn't be.  But it was.  The wire that fits over the spark plug was bouncing up and down like a bobble head doll making fun of me.  I hauled the mower down again.  I pushed the sacred red button 3 times.  And I cautiously tugged the rope.  And it started right up.  And the yard got mowed.  Didn't sound great, but the yard looks good.  Amazing what happens when the spark plug is connected to the power source.   Amazing what happens when we keep our spark plug, our personal goals and determination, connected to the power of the Holy Spirit.  Without that connection we are a mass of false starts and empty promises and weary bodies depressed minds.  But with it, we can get the job done.  Sometimes our part feels like we are sputtering and coughing, but we get the job done.  Amazing, that Holy Spirit.   Jeremiah 33:2-3 says, "This is what the Lord says, he who made the earth, the Lord who formed it and established it — the Lord is his name: 'Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.'"   Father, forgive us when we tug and pull and exert all our energy before realizing our spark plug is not connected with your power.  Amen.