a hole in a wall

i've got a hole in my wall. it's enormous. it started off small though.

every time i would walk down this sidewalk i could smell a stench that would make my stomach turn. i noticed water dripping from it months ago. i mentioned it several times to our land lord. he didn't want to pay the money to fix it. i mean who would? it's inside of a wall! it's not like a real problem that you can see like a plugged up drain or a sagging roof, right? it's just a leak. a slow leak.

the problem got bigger though. the smell started to come into our house. who wants to do dishes and feel like you are going to puke any second from the smell coming up through the drain? i sure don't! so i called the landlord, again, for maybe the 10th time. this time i wasn't as polite. um, i'm sorry to bother you but the kitchen sink situation is getting serious! it won't drain and when i use the dish washer all kinds of stuff comes back up. something needs to be done! ( i said on the verge of hysteria) his kind secretary told me she would tell him again and have him call me. she called back in a half an hour saying go ahead and call a plumber and get that fixed. FINALLY! i sighed. silently of course.

the plumber came on monday. he took one smell and said you have a cracked pipe mam. i just smiled. i knew it! he told me that we had methane gas leaking into the house from the sewer. nice.

the dreaded call from the plumber to the land lord resulted in some swearing and the phrase "but there is methane gas leaking into the house and if the building inspector were to come by the house would be condemned." way to go plumber louis, i cheered in the back ground! the lord of the land had no choice but to comply. i told matt that night that it was going to be an even bigger problem then one cracked pipe.
they started drilling a hole in the wall this morning. its loud and my dog is on the verge of a nervous breakdown as am i...as am i. but it will be worth it in two days. no smell and no leak. the hole in the wall is huge today and keeps getting larger as more and more leaky pipes are discovered. in fact the broken pipes go from the side of the house under the kitchen to the front of the house. that's one huge ignored problem.
its funny that this is happening today. not funny haha but funny ironic cause matt and i were just talking last night about problems, sin, and evil that may be occurring in our lives that goes unchecked for so long that before you know it, the sin has become larger then yourself and unable to really even get a handle on. it has started to control you. in fact this has been a running theme for almost a year with me especially. i have friends who have made decisions that start off so small and innocent...insignificant even. it snow balls and before they know it that one choice has got them pinned and forced to make a life changing decision. they end up having a monsterous hole in their wall and their entire plumbing needs to be replaced to fix it. its not just friends either. always easier to focus on someone else's hole. i have them too. little drips that keep reminding me to work on it. don't ignore this it seems to say. what if there are issues in my life that i don't even know about? what if i have a drip that i can't see? what if like my landlord i am totally ignorant to it? well he wasn't ignorant. why? cause i warned him. several times actually. my prayer is that i have people/friends in my life that will warn me of my drips. politely at first, please. lovingly even.

i know this house you see. i've lived here for three years now and i love it. i've brought a new baby home to this house. i have lovingly decorated it. we have made memories in it. i know it well. that is how i was able to recognize that something wasn't quite right. i want to be like a house to matt and to my friends. i want my friends and family to love me. to love my house. to care if a drip happens. cause honestly having the strength to repair a huge hole in my wall... well that would take a team of experts.