Nobody Notices Until It Stops Working

Stay the course

I’m not a contortionist.

This I learned Saturday.

After spending nearly 12 hours twisting and bending my body in every position under the kitchen sink trying to replace the garbage disposal, every muscle screamed in pain.

I know. Guys on YouTube swear that you can replace a garbage disposal in 5 minutes.

They don’t know me.

I guess I was feeling over-confident after successfully installing a wall unit air conditioner in my rental property.

Ultimately, my son came in during the final hour with his nimble body, smaller hands, and sharper mind to finish what I couldn’t.

As I looked over the completed work, a thought came to me.

What have I spent the last 12 hours doing?

There’s no new paint on the wall, we don’t have updated kitchen counters like my wife would like, and the sink is still old and black.

After Sandra cleaned up the mess, you couldn’t tell I had done anything. No visible improvements. Nothing to point to with pride and say, that’s what I did with my entire Saturday. That’s what I did instead of baking bread, napping, or going out for a movie and dinner.

The disposal works now, but who appreciates a garbage disposal until it stops working?

Then it gets noticed.

And that got me thinking about fathers.

A father’s work often goes unnoticed.

He’s faithful to his wife, can be found in the recliner when a teenage child needs advice, and is a phone call away when his daughter has a flat tire.

He goes to work. Comes home. Pays bills. Fixes what breaks. Shows up again tomorrow and does it all over again.

Nothing spectacular.

He just keeps everything working and held together.

And because he does, his steady and enduring faithfulness can easily go unnoticed.

Until …

He leaves to chase freedom.

He’s caught cheating on his wife.

He jumps ship when the marriage takes on water.

Then everyone notices.

He becomes a spectacle, and if he’s in midlife, a cliché.

Perhaps some will celebrate him for “being true to himself” or pursuing his own happiness. You only live once, they’ll say.

But he’s not the only one who has to live with his decisions.

His wife does.

His children do.

And the consequences can ripple through generations.

Your midlife crisis isn’t just your crisis.

This post isn’t about evoking pity for faithful fathers. We signed up for this. It’s our duty.

I want to encourage husbands and fathers to stay the course. Work it out. Stay strong.

You may not get noticed or be celebrated for doing your job day in and day out. That’s okay.

Your faithfulness may feel invisible right now. So may the results.

But isn’t that where faith comes in?

“Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.” — Hebrews 11:1

You may not be able to see what you’re building while you’re in the grind. But you’re building something.

One day you may look at your grown children-emotionally, mentally, and spiritually healthy-and realize your faithfulness helped make that possible.

What you couldn’t see then, you can see now.

Until then, keep everything working and held together.

And don’t grow weary.

“So let’s not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t give up.” — Galatians 6:9 NLT

I wrote a book to help men live and finish strong. It’s called **Stronger Down the Stretch**. I encourage you to check it out.

Originally published at https://rdennisbrady.com on August 18, 2026.