It was a Friday. I was finishing up laundry so I could pack for a week
with 8th graders at Confirmation Camp. I was down to my last load and had
gone out to run some errands. When I returned home, I went into the
basement to transfer clothes from the washer to the dryer. Only the cycle
hadn't finished. My clothes lay in a too-damp heap in the bottom of the
washing machine.
I checked the fuse box, but everything was in order there. Finally I went
ahead and wrung the clothes out by hand as best I could and proceeded to
dry them in smaller loads. It took all day, but it got done.
Now this was an old washing machine. It was old when I moved in and it is
older now and I figured it would give out one day so on that Friday in
late June I wasn't terribly surprised. However, I wasn't excited about
the prospect of returning home in a week without a washing machine so I
felt some urgency to buy a new one. Normally I would ponder this decision
for a while, but not this time. I did check Consumer Reports to see what
they recommended. And then I drove to Sears to see what they had in
stock.
I explained to the sales rep that I didn't need anything fancy. I'm not
raising children and it's only me so something basic would be just fine.
He was more than willing to accommodate me and within half an hour I had
signed off on the purchase of a new machine. He was happy to tell me that
yes, they could, indeed, deliver it the very next morning so it would be
there and installed and ready to go before I left for camp.
Late Saturday morning the truck pulled up and two strong young men stood
ready to take away the old machine and to bring the new one down my steep
basement stairs. They unhooked the old machine and hoisted it up the
stairs like they do it every day…. Which, of course, they do. Just as
easily, they brought the new machine downstairs, hooked up the hoses and
plugged it in. He was ready to give me a first hand demonstration of how
it worked and hit the power button. And nothing happened. He checked the
fuse box and it was fine. It dawned on me then and there that there was
nothing wrong with the old machine at all, but that the outlet had somehow
gone bad. My power source was compromised. And without that being
addressed, even this bright shiny new machine was only going to be a
pretty decoration in my otherwise drab basement.
It's a simple analogy, of course, but one I need to be reminded of often.
Without our source of power, energy, and hope, we're not able to do much.
Go without food or water for a few days and you know the truth of that.
Go without good sleep and you know yourself to be dragging the next day---
maybe for several days. Go without exercise and your body becomes less
limber --- less able to do all that it was able to do before. And for
people of faith, for you and me, to go without the refreshing, renewing,
refilling power of God? Well, we won't get very far in all the ways that
matter without that, too.
For when I cut myself off from the power of God's love, I find myself less
able to forgive, more fearful about tomorrow, more impatient in my
dealings with others. When I've gone a stretch of time without resting in
God's tender care in worship and in private prayer and conversation, then
I simply become more brittle. Less able somehow, to deal with the
inevitable disappointments and challenges which come to all of us --- not
to mention those larger losses which eventually mark all of our lives.
So in these hot days of summer, perhaps we should all ask ourselves not
only about our eating and exercise or about how much sleep we're getting.
No doubt we would all do well to check in to be sure we are connected to
that source of power in god's love which gives us all we need for the
emotional and spiritual challenges which are ours as well…
As for my washing machine? Well, I kept the new one. I figured I'd need a
new one pretty soon anyway. Only next time? You can be sure I'll be
checking my power source before I go out to buy something new.
Peace to you and many blessings.
Pastor Janet
Coming up this week at Salem:
Don't miss our community servant speaker on Sunday at 9:15 a.m. in
Fellowship Hall. Our own Janet Peterson and Kathy Vickers will be talking
about her work at DeKalb County Rehab and Nursing Home.
Vacation Bible School is just a week away, beginning July 25th! Check out
the craft and snack needs in this week-end's bulletin and be sure to get
your children/grandchildren/neighbors registered!
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