Down And To The Right
By Bob Kaku
With a glint in her eyes, Gail smiled. “The contractors did a great job!” At last, our two bathrooms were magically transformed into new ones. Bright ivory-colored tiles with a marble design snugly enclosed a new tub in one bathroom with a new floor. A new shower with a frameless glass door enhanced the aesthetics of the other bathroom, making it appear larger.
We selected some attractive chrome and gold-trim towel racks with matching toilet paper dispensers to accent the newly textured and painted walls.
I gathered my electric drill, ruler, level, and other tools from the garage to attach the decorative accessories. After carefully measuring the length of the first towel rack, I drilled the holes and installed the side brackets. Mingled scents of fresh paint and drywall dust permeated the area. When I tried to insert the towel bar, it didn’t fit. Hmm—the side brackets are too close. I angled and maneuvered the bar in vain.
Gail checked in on me, rolled her eyes, and left the room.
I’ll use my hacksaw to solve it. I took the towel bar to the garage and sawed a quarter inch off. I brought it back and tried it again. There, it fits. I’ll do a better job on the next one.
To my chagrin, the second towel bar didn’t fit either. That’s funny. I thought my measurements were precise. This time, I took a half inch off.
Gail peeked in and saw me struggling with the third one. “You’ve been working on this all day. Didn’t you say it would only take a couple of hours?”
“It’s a lot harder than it looks,” I fired back.
The following day, I continued with the remaining towel bars. I couldn’t believe I ended up cutting all five. At least they fit and are level.
Now I had to install the toilet paper dispenser. This measurement had to be exact, because I couldn’t saw the spring-loaded pin that held the toilet paper. After installing the side brackets, I slipped the toilet paper onto the pin. This time I had the opposite problem. The brackets were a bit too far apart. But it’ll work.
Gail walked in and pointed. “It’s crooked.” She tapped the toilet paper roll with her hand, and it bounced to the floor. “You need to redo it.”
“It’s supposed to be like that! You put too much pressure on it!”
“No, I tapped it lightly. Now we’re going to have extra holes on our freshly painted walls!”
I suppose I could fill the drill holes with spackling—but what a shame, it won’t match.
Seething, I stormed off to the hardware store. Doesn’t Gail know I’m not a handyman? As I was driving, I heard God speak to my spirit. “You’re not just mad at Gail; you’ve been mad all week.”
Is that You, Lord? I reflected on all the things that had gone wrong at the office, and how I lost my temper.
“Lord, I’m truly sorry for the way I’ve acted toward Gail and some people at work. Please forgive me. I promise to make things right with her and my colleagues.”
The Lord spoke to me again. “Gail’s right. You need to redo the toilet paper dispenser. And one more thing—move it down and to the right.”
Huh? Move it down and to the right?
After I returned, I sincerely apologized to Gail and described my encounter with God.
“Wow! Jesus spoke to you?”
I unscrewed the left bracket and drilled the holes slightly down and to the right. When I refastened the bracket, the previous drill holes were completely covered. “Yes!” I placed the level on top of the dispenser, and the bubble indicator was right in the middle. I loaded the toilet paper, tapped it with my hand, and it stayed put.
Everything worked out perfectly.
In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. (Ephesians 4:26-27 niv)
An excerpt from the book Popcorn Miracles® by Bob & Gail Kaku. Reprinted by permission
