Life's little lessons leak into our lives

I don't mean to sound like Dr. Phil, but I learned a small lesson in life yesterday. Don't misunderstand - this was no great epiphany or life-altering lesson. Actually it was more like a minor event that made me smile and prompted me to think of larger lessons.

So here's the story.

I have had a leak in my kitchen faucet for months and months. It is no more than an annoyance. It's not nearly enough to alter my water bill. It's just unsightly and bothersome. Obviously since I've had this leak for months now, it hasn't taken a high priority in my world.

But you know, I had finally had my fill. So I called my friendly plumber - since my handyman skills are lacking - and within minutes, my leak had disappeared. Last night I was able for the first time in months to clean the kitchen sink and not return minutes later to face the results of non-stop leaking. My world at last was at peace. OK, that's a stretch, I'll admit it.

When I awoke this morning, I followed my routine of making a pot of coffee. And there it was - a clean sink - no leak, no mess.

Now let's be honest here. In the grand scheme of things, this is right near the bottom of the events in our lives. Yet in some small way, the removal of that annoyance was such a pleasant experience. I'm sure Dr. Phil would have much to say about this change but he is too busy making millions of bucks peddling his brand of feel-good philosophies.

It reminded me of the Serenity Prayer, that famous little ditty written in 1932 (OK, so I looked it up). It goes like this: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference." Of course, given this week's court ruling, maybe I can't use God's name in a newspaper column any longer. Go figure!

So there you have it. I had the courage to change the things I can and by golly, that's just what I did. Sure, today it was just a leaking faucet but tomorrow you never know what life might hand you.

Dr. Phil would have a field day on this one. The lesson of the leaking faucet. But then again Dr. Phil could make a fortune from any of life's lessons. Me on the other hand, well I'm just glad the leak is fixed. Now about that garage door. . . . .