Article May 7, 2018 Issue

No more ‘here we go again’ moments

Sue Holzberlein

About a year ago, I had one of those “oh no, here we go again” experiences. I had a plumbing problem on my hands. I needed to replace the kitchen faucet. But because in the past I’d had difficulty with this type of work as a result of corrosion freezing the nuts onto the bolts, my first thought was to anticipate problems. And indeed, as I began work on this new project, I was finding the same problem I’d run into before: the nuts were frozen onto the bolts. The project seemed daunting.

However, as I was working under my sink, I was reminded of the biblical account of how Paul (who, as Saul, had persecuted and brought about the murder of Jews who followed Christ Jesus) was shown his true, Godlike nature, and how this revelation profoundly changed him (see Acts 9:1–20). Then, at one point in his travels following his conversion, Paul was bitten by a poisonous snake (see Acts 28:3–5), and observers speculated, “No doubt this man is a murderer,” believing he was being punished because of his past.

I didn’t need to be tempted by old thoughts about anything.