Due to many various factors - lags in repair shop timelines (May is apparently a busy month for lawn mower maintenance) to name the most impactful one - I have been trying to bring an old lawn mower back to life.
I am far from handy. Most DIY projects in the Zelenka household require going back a few steps and redoing something correctly.
I also know nothing about engines big or small or in-between.
But, there are many outstanding resources online - tips from experts, PDFs of manufacturer manuals, and step-by-step videos from people who have navigated similar problems in the past. So, I have cleaned out the fuel tank, replaced the sparkplug and filters, changed the oil, and disassembled and de-clogged the carburetor (multiple times).
Two weeks ago, I successfully got the mower to start and cut about 1/2 of our yard before it sputtered out. After a series of starts and stops, and new internet searches diagnosing this new problem, I borrowed a friend's machine and finished the job for that weekend.
Throughout the week, I reassessed what I had already done (was the carburetor only clean enough, was the sparkplug not as sparky as it needed to be, was the fuel filter dirty, did I not put the choke back together correctly...), and I scoured the internet for more insights, especially considering the mower was now only mostly dead.
Since the machine had started the sparkplug had to have been okay. A quick check on it found it to be sparkling clean.
Since it had run for a bit and then died, there must be something happening with the gas. The filter checked out as clear. The gas tank was free from debris. The carburetor took an overnight bath in cleaner and emerged almost like new.
It turned out that the final ailment was a clogged fuel line.
It had new oil, fresh gas, a sparking sparkplug, and a completely cleaned out carburetor, but because of the buildup in the fuel line, the engine didn't have enough gas to keep running. Over time enough gas would trickle into the carburetor so that it would start and run, but it wasn't able to tap into a steady supply of fuel.
It wasn't that it didn't have enough gas. The tank was full.
The engine couldn't access it.
I am proud to report that I successfully cut my lawn with my rejuvenated lawnmower on Friday of last week thanks to a new fuel line - and the other maintenance procedures that were performed.
To prove it wasn't a fluke, the grass got cut again last night with my restored machine.
I share this saga to inspire your own efforts to determine the root causes to some of the aspects of your schools that you would like to change:
- Dig into the data.
- Study up to enhance your own understanding of the situation.
- Make an informed tweak and try again.
- Dig into the data and start the cycle for improvement over again.
Come next fall, if these changes don't yield the intended harvest, the process can begin again...and again...and again...and again...
Also, as we finish the 2023-24 academic year with teachers and students and look ahead to a summer of diagnoses and tweaks to our organizational machines, let us also take the time to ensure that our spiritual engines are getting enough gas.
Take time to clean out the fuel lines of your ministry and vocation to ensure that the Holy Spirit has access to the engine of your heart. Remove the buildup of the past year by establishing new routines of prayer, reclaiming those that fell away, and reflecting on the tests, trials, and triumphs of your prayer, professional, and personal lives.
Keep striving to become the best people, ministers, leaders, and organizations that we can be.
Tinker. Over and over and over again with data analysis and ongoing study.
Improve.
