Joey and the Plumber

by Linda Tinker

Several years ago I bought an old house in a central city neighborhood.  The inspection revealed a few flaws, but nothing major.  The house seemed to be in very good shape, and I felt good about owning it. 

One thing these inspections do not include is the plumbing, and I was somewhat apprehensive about the very real possibility of discovering expensive plumbing problems in such an old house.  However, I had some money put aside for repairs, and trusted in God to help me with whatever might be needed.

Sure enough, I did have some problems with the sewer line soon after I moved in, but it appeared to be only a blockage.  The trouble was, the plumber could not find the cleanout valve, the place where the snake needed to go to root out the problem, so he ended up having to dig and make a hole in the line.  He said I needed to have a cleanout valve installed, and the cost would be about $250-$300.  I chose not to do it at that time, but prepared myself for the future necessity of doing so.

The next time a problem surfaced, I called a different plumber at the recommendation of a friend of mine who also owns an old house.  She recommended Dan because he was a good plumber and a Christian.  She said, "He's not inexpensive, but he is honest and will do a good job for you." 

Once again, the problem of the cleanout valve arose.  I had prayed that Dan would be able to find it and spare me the expense of installing one, but he was also unable to locate it.  As we stood in the back yard discussing this problem, my cocker spaniel, Joey, suddenly started to dig at a spot near our feet.  Now I have to admit that Joey is a pretty useless animal, and he was in the habit, like most dogs, of digging a hollow near a fence or wall to lie in, but I had never seen him digging like this before, in the middle of the yard.  He seemed very determined and purposeful.  After just a moment or two, a rubber cap appeared where he was digging, and it soon became apparent that this was the access to the cleanout valve.  Dan looked at me and said in an awed voice, "God used your dog to solve our problem!" 

I am so thankful that God is mindful of all our little problems, and that He can and will use means we would never dream of to help us find the solutions.