Plugged Sprinklers & Broken Pipes

It’s irrigation time! Those underground irrigation systems have also been called ‘automatic’ irrigation. I’ve come to the conclusion that, in some ways, they are not automatic at all. They need constant maintenance. Algae, dirt and even spider webs get into the system and plug up the holes in the sprinkler heads. Pipes get brittle over time, and break. I step onto a sprinkler head or run the lawn mower too close when the ‘pop-up’ didn’t pop down. I keep trying to get the best adjustment for the best coverage and haven’t yet achieved it. The result is that I’ve made so many trips to the irrigation supply shop that I’m afraid they’ll be designating a parking spot for me.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the irrigation system were so automatic that it would repair itself, send cleaning agents when a sprinkler was blocked and constantly inject something that would keep the inside of the pipes clean? Come to think of it, our bodies have a system like that. Our circulatory system dispenses white blood cells and platelets to repair and clean our arteries and veins when cuts or infections occur. In addition, the red blood corpuscles deliver nutrients and pick up garbage from the cells. Amazing provision by an amazing Creator. When the damage to our circulation system is too severe He has given us brains to devise medical solutions for at least some of them.

However, life doesn’t automatically run that smoothly or correct itself. We constantly need to be cleaning up our act, repairing relationships or making adjustments to our plans because there are right and wrong ways to do things. It’s humbling and frustrating business but the result can be even more beautiful than a well-watered lawn and garden or a clean blood circulation system. The prophet Isaiah gave us great hope when he said, “Though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as snow.”

Grace and mercy will put us on the sunny side.

Henry Wiebe