Making All the Connections

Today was the day to tackle the tangle of telephone wires. With modems, computers with fax lines, and extensions, there were a lot of wires in the switch boxes. And to confuse matters, there were still old lines that used to connect to other phones that are no longer in use. That's why I made diagrams, one after the other, and on various pieces of paper. I wanted to make sure I could hook up all the lines properly even though the locations of the boxes were all changed.

Having carefully followed my diagrams in connecting the wires, I discovered the phones didn't work. The modem worked on the computer, so I had internet; the fax didn't work. After doublechecking all the wiring and even experimenting all the other possibilities I could think of in the main switch box, I started rehearsing what I would say to the telephone company repairmen whom I would have to ask to come out and fix whatever it was I broke. I was working on several versions, wondering which way the conversation would actually go.

I gave up. I still had to make the connection of the new line to the extension upstairs, so I figured I might as well do that. The new cable, though, used different colors of wires from the original one, so I was making the conversion from black to orange, and white to yellow, and another white to red (had to make sure I got the right white for each). I gave that my best shot, and voilá! The phone upstairs worked! So I went downstairs. It worked, too, now. At least one of those wires was crucial for the whole system to operate, and I still don't know which one it is. I didn't figure that extension line was needed for the other parts to operate, but it is.

There was a lesson in it for me. Although I've done everything from plumbing to cabinetmaking to electrical installations, I never studied telephone wiring configurations. I couldn't install a phone system, but I figured I could put one back the way it was. Had I known the way the circuits work, I would have immediately known where the problem was. As it was, I simply had to follow through ALL THE WAY to get the desired results. I didn't have to understand why those wires were the way they were, I just had to be sure and get all of them back into place.

God's will is like that, too. He doesn't ask us, or expect us, to understand all the wiring and how it works. He gives us the plan and expects us to follow it. If we do, blessings will follow. Sometimes we may stop short of full execution, having theorized that what we have done is sufficient for the purpose. Then we get stressed out because our connections don't work. We try to reason through the process, analyzing the situation in order to understand it, and all the time God is simply waiting for us to obey His word and do what He has plainly told us to do.

I still don't understand how those circuits work, but I'm thankful I can pick up the phone and get a dial tone.