A Brother Is Born for Adversity

by John C. Westervelt

Proverbs 17:17 states, "A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity." I can vouch for the truth of this scripture.

On Saturday I spent all day in the garage working on Mary Kim’s wooden frames for her stained glass windows. I was tired when I started pealing carrots for supper. The baked potato would be ready at five o’clock. I set the timer for ten minutes to cook the carrots, celery, and broccoli. A few minutes before five, I pushed the carrot peels into the disposal and turned it on. I knew something was wrong when carrot peelings came out the other side of the sink.

I filled the sink a third full, pulled the stopper, and turned on the disposal to flush the drain line. The next thing I knew, I was standing in water coming from beneath the sink. While not a major adversity, on a Saturday night this became an adversity for me. After mopping the floor and cleaning beneath the sink, I called Wallace who suggested I check the trap.

My supper was still warm, so I ate to receive energy for the job ahead. After eating I began loosening slip joints on the sink drains. One joint wouldn’t yield to my strength. To add to my frustration, my pipe wrench was too large for the bend in the trap.

I called my brother, Wallace. Even though I could hear the OSU - TU football game in the background, he said, "I’ll head your way with a smaller wrench."

Wallace arrived with strong muscles and a strong mental outlook. By the end of an hour he had removed, cleaned, and reinstalled a multitude of pieces after snaking the one fixed section. Wallace returned to his ball game where he would ask Barbara what he had missed. I would rest easy with a working sink, thanks to the truth of Proverbs.

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