09/29/2026
When the Pipes Get Clogged
(Dedicated to one of the best plumbers of the age - my dad Gailans Alexander)
Reflection
This morning, our friend David, back in Baltimore, was doing some plumbing work at the house we use as an Airbnb. For the past year, we had noticed a recurring problem: one of the pipes kept getting clogged. Several times a year, we had to call a plumber to deal with it. Eventually, we became frustrated because the problem kept coming back.
This time, we called a professional plumber, and he discovered that there was a deeper problem inside the pipe. We needed to open part of the wall and look more closely to find out what was actually happening.
We called our friend David. As he examined the pipes, we discovered that a couple of connections were contributing to the problem. When he took them apart, he found something even more significant. A small piece of metal had somehow gotten into the pipe. Over time, everything flowing through the pipe began accumulating around it and the pipes themselves became narrow inside. Eventually, the buildup became so severe that the opening became extremely narrow. The water simply could not flow freely anymore.
David sent us a picture of the old, clogged pipe. It looked terrible.
But then he showed us the new pipes he had installed. And what struck me was something he said: “Now the water can flow freely because nothing is clogging it.”
That immediately made me think about our inner lives. As time passes, our souls can become clogged, too.
Disappointments. Failures. Unresolved conflicts. Bitterness. Fear. Shame. Things people have said or done to us. Things we have done ourselves. Sometimes these things seem small when they first enter our lives. But if they remain there, other things begin to build up around them. And eventually, something happens.
What might seem like a small incident can suddenly produce an enormous overflow - not necessarily because that one thing was so significant, but because there was already so much buildup inside.
Sometimes we wonder, “Why did this affect me so deeply?” Perhaps the answer is that something inside has been narrowing the flow for a long time.
And sometimes God needs to take us deeper than simply fixing the surface problem. He may need to expose what is hidden inside.
There are moments when a little cleaning is not enough. Something needs to be replaced with something new. This is where the light of Christ becomes so important.
We need to bring our inner lives into His presence - not hiding, or pretending, but allowing His light to shine into the places we would rather leave untouched.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.” Psalm 139:23
Whatever may be clogging your soul today, don’t wait until the next little thing causes an overflow. Bring it before Christ.
Let Him show you what has accumulated over the years. Let Him reveal what needs to be removed, healed, redeemed, or replaced. And trust that He is not merely interested in fixing the outward symptoms. He desires to renew us from within.
The goal is not simply to have cleaner pipes but to have open channels through which the life of the Spirit can flow freely.
“Lord Jesus, shine Your light into my inner life. Show me what has become clogged within me. Give me courage to let You remove what needs to be removed and renew what needs to be renewed. Make my heart a clear channel for Your Spirit. May Your life flow freely through me. Amen.”
