It was difficult to screw in one of the seats (the part that goes inside the wall), and apparently it went in just a tiny bit crooked -- I stripped the threads. This means they'll have to replace the valve, and will have to open up the wall to do this. The whole operation (on top of the hour the plumber already spent) will take maybe two hours. So, it looks like trying to save a bit of money and get the annoying leak fixed quickly will end up costing me somewhere around $300, plus the cost of getting the hole in the wall repaired.
Why have I called this post "Joy," you ask? Because this is the Lord's. He's in charge of all the good and all the bad in my life. He takes every crazy thing, every ridiculous thing, and ultimately turns it into healing for me and sometimes even for others whose lives I touch.
He knew how this would turn out, but it didn't lessen His joy. Why should it lessen mine?
Lord of all the earth, I trust You. Not just because I know You will provide for me in this, but because You will use my mistake as part of something bigger, something sweet. I have joy following a botched plumbing repair? Who is this person? She looks like me, but she sure isn't responding like me.
Oh yes, I'm calling this post "Joy." Not because I'm deliriously happy about having to waste hundreds of dollars, but because this is Yours, my life is Yours, I am Yours. And in this seemingly unnecessary, tiny-in-the-grand-scheme-of-things mess, You hear my response of trust and joy and love, and it is to You a holy love song. Praise You, my sweet King. I am on my way to You. It may take a couple of decades or so, but I'm on my way.