Plunging and Praying

My left hand found the plunger without looking and in no time the task was complete.  The stuff in the toilet had been there a while and, having had no success at plunging it herself, a teenage girl became desperate enough to call on the dorm parent.  “Mrs. M-P the toilet is clogged again.”  I reply, “of course it is, I’ll be right there.”  I have been a dorm parent for three years and have plunged more than a few times a week.  Nowadays, I am also serving as pastor along with being a dorm dean. The request for my expert plunging always serves as a call to prayer. My husband, Will, calls this routine plunging and praying.  My prayer comes out in the form of singing.  10,000 Reasons, by Matt Redman, is my most frequent praying and plunging song.  It is loosely based on Psalm 103 which states:

“Bless the Lord, O my soul,

   and all that is within me,

   bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord, O my soul,

  and do not forget all his benefits –

who forgives all your iniquity,

who heals all your diseases,

who redeems your life from the Pit,

who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

who satisfies you with good as long as you live

So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”

It is as though the Psalmist is coaching or singing to himself.  How often our own souls need coaching! Remembering God and all of God’s good actions toward us, with us, and in us, we reconnect with what is supremely true.  This re-rooting the soul is the best kind of coaching that we can do for ourselves.    

The sight and smell of a clogged toilet is a reminder that life can stink.  Pain, frustration, and chaos cannot be avoided.  However, in each mess that I encounter, I hear the invitation of One who entered the mess of humanity to bring hope and healing.  The stuff in the toilet is going to pass. The mess is not ultimate. So, I've decided to face this particular mess with prayer because on my own, “blessing” seems far from clogged toilets. When I re-root and claim the truth in the midst of the mess through my praying and plunging, I am partnering with God. I remember and claim once more the most real and unchanging truth about my life.  It is God.  It is God’s abundant goodness and kindness to me and to all of us that sustains us.  At the end of the day, regardless of the stinky mess, I can sing praise to a God who is intimately present in all of life.