It took me a few weeks but I found it after a lot of work searching for it. It was annoying and irritating in the extreme, at times. I had endured its racket for weeks. I tried everything I could think of to find it and address the issue … but it always illuded me. So, last Friday morning I armed myself with spanners, screwdrivers and sockets, gritted my teeth, and determined to find it, fix it and be done with it once and for all.
I set to work.
Out came the rear interior upholstery and plastic shrouds in the rear of my 4WD truck. I have drawer storage system in the back for my off-road recovery and camping gear, and so I emptied all that onto the nature strip looking for anything loose that could be better repackaged. I found a couple of small things. Then I put everything back and took the truck for a test drive. In no time at all it was clear that it was still there.
The rattle.
I mean, most 4WD’s rattle a bit after a while. Every off-roader learns quickly what each rattle means and what is causing it, then makes an assessment as to whether they can live with the rattle, or not. All cars rattle a bit. But this was no ordinary rattle. It was an extremely irritating and almost ‘malignant’ rattle that told me that something was out of the ordinary and could become expensive if left unaddressed. So, the rattle was still there and seemed louder than ever and my irritation level was higher than ever, too.
I returned to base and emptied the storage drawers of all my off-road stuff – again – and then set to work removing the drawers and refrigerator slide. I took off the covers and checked for anything loose. Nothing. I then undid the locking bolts and removed the drawers themselves to check for any loose mounts. Nothing. I tightened (and probably over-tightened) every nut, bolt and screw I could find. I checked the cargo barrier and tightened that – even when it didn’t need tightening. I then reassembled everything, replaced everything, stowed all the gear once more and went for another test drive. I got on to the main road near where we live and hit a few bumps.
That infernal rattle was still there!
I was furious. Several hours work and nothing to show for it. What a way to spend my day off. I returned to base and went and made a cup of coffee. I sat on top of the drawers sipping my coffee and staring out the back of my 4WD to my neighbour’s front yard, all the time working through all I had checked trying see if I’d missed anything. I sat there for a while and then happened to glance at the top of one of the rear doors – up near where the additional brake light is, and a shroud that houses the rear door locking mechanism. I reached out and tried to jiggle it. It was solidly in place, but as I did so my eye caught sight of an empty bolt hole. AHA!! Suddenly sensing victory was near I peered inside the shroud and the missing bolt had left the locking mechanism loose and flapping around.
I’d found the cause of that infernal rattle!
Weeks before, Dean and I had spotted a loose bolt laying on the tailgate – but we couldn’t find where it belonged – and that’s about when the rattle began. I raced inside and retrieved the bolt and it took me five seconds to screw it into place. I jumped in the truck and went for a test drive. I hit the main drag again and …
NO RATTLE!
I was euphoric! I loved my truck again after weeks of refusing to drive it or care for it. I was cheesed off! But not anymore! I went and washed it in celebration, checked tyre pressures, topped up oil and water and then went for a drive around Sunbury smiling at everyone and enjoying my truck once more. I was in a happy 4WD place again! My world was different … because of 13mm bolt.
As I reflected on that experience later that evening, I realised that there are times when we know and sense that something within us is not right and that if left unaddressed will cause serious problems. Those sins or flaws that I am talking about are there but not easily found and dealt with – maybe they’ve been there for years, but suddenly get louder and more noticeable. They start to make a noise … The “rattle” of those hidden things is annoying, irritating and frustrating, and they steal away our joy. And we need to be prepared to get to the bottom what the cause is. If we ignore them, the irritation and, perhaps, the damage will only get worse until we are driven to distraction. I have had to do this along the way not a few times. In realising something is not right in a relationship, or something is rattling alarmingly in my spiritual walk, or that I need to spend a season in re-consecrating myself in order to find the cause, I have ruthlessly determined not live with it, or put up with it … because I know from experience it quickly takes the joy out of the journey and usually leads to further trouble.
These are the times when Holy Spirit will cause or allow a holy irritation in me that will niggle away until I find it and deal with it. This is His ministry of conviction – the truth about something we simply must address. Ignoring it only makes the rattle worse. Every time I have set out to find a rattle I have eventually found the cause of my spiritual irritation (the sin, or something omitted, a wrong attitude etc.). It can take some time without becoming paranoid about it. It is often something easily addressed, but it is still important. And, when I have found that infernal rattle and fixed it before the Lord, the joy of my salvation has come flooding back. No rattles for a while. And I walk around with the Lord … smiling again.
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”
Psalms 139:23-24
You are wonderfully loved.
Ps Milton