A Little Better than Plumb
If anything is plumb, it is perfectly straight.
It is exact. Therefore, a little better than plumb is not really better. Instead, it is:
- Off plumb
- Out of plumb
- Not straight
Kentucky authors Henry and Janice Holt Giles wrote about building their cabin in the book A Little Better than Plumb: The Biography of a House.
One worker asked another if what they just nailed was plumb. The reply: “Sure was. Fact is … hit was jist a little bit better’n plumb ….” The Giles’ discovered that several parts of their cabin were a little better than plumb.
Read more about the Giles family and their cabin in the September 2019 Kentucky Monthly magazine.
A plumb line helps measure whether anything is straight or plumb.
A metal weight (plumb bob) at the end of a line holds the line straight. It may be low tech, but it works.
Our lives often get off plumb or out of plumb.
We leave the straight and narrow and end up in hot water. Yet, God offers us a fresh start.
If we accept that fresh start, God expects us, like plumb lines, to show others the perfect way.
“I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line” (Isaiah 28:17 NIV).
Thanks to Jeri Stone for the suggestion and to Iva and Jewel Wade for the plumb line photo.
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“You described my life to a T.” That was Judith Coopey’s response to one of my blog posts. As soon as I read her words, I knew I had to write about them.