Plumbing Problems

I am a plumber and this is one of my true stories. A friend of mine called me and asked, “Claude, could you do me a favor and help this older lady that I know and go by and look at her plumbing? She needs plumbing work really badly but she's too scared to call a plumber because of the cost. She knows that if I send you over to check out the plumbing she can trust me as a friend recommending you.” I said I could do that. The next day came and I went to the older lady's home. She came to the door with a pleasant smile, very humble. I could see it in her eyes, she didn't have to say a word (what is this going to cost?) She was very polite and courteous. “Sir, would you like some thing to drink and I do appreciate you coming to check out my plumbing on such short notice”. “No problem ma’am, let’s see what's going on here with your plumbing”. As I walked through the home I saw in the corner of my eye younger children around 3, 5 and 6 years of age running around the house. I'm sure they were her grandkids; right away I knew they also stayed there and the grandmother seemed to have her hands full. It's safe to say that the grandmother was helping raise them or she was doing it all alone. Yea I'm a softy, seeing all of this going on before I even saw the plumbing problem just made me thankful of my situation and hoping that I could help her out. Maybe just for that day I could give her a chance to catch her breath and take away some of the worries she had going on. I finally made it to the kitchen sink. “Here you go Sir, I'll leave you alone and let you work”. “Thank you so much” in a humble voice she said. I looked under the kitchen sink. WOW! That's it I said to myself. It was a chrome P-Trap that had corroded from the bottom leaking into a large cooking pot, a five-minute job to replace it. I was curious. “Ma’am, how long has this been like this?” “Two years, Sir”. I asked, “really?” “Yes”. “Ma’am where have you been washing your dishes?” I asked. “In the tub”. OH! I said. “Can you fix it Sir?” She asked. “Yes ma’am, not a problem”. For a minute, I saw a little sigh of relief on her face, but she caught herself. “Sir, do you have any idea what this is going to cost?” “Yes Ma’am” in a low voice I said, “nothing”. I didn't have to say it too loud because I didn't want it to seem as if I were doing her a big favor because I was feeling just as humble as she was; the smile and the relief on her face was more than enough for me. She was really doing me a big favor, I was enjoying the idea that I was helping someone God had sent me to. Yes I know this is a small job but there are many people out there that don't realize this and they are too scared to call a plumber.

Submitted by Anonymous

Compassion