Of the Good Father and Appliances

We are completely moved into our new house! Of course, when I say moved in, I mean that everything is in or on the premises. Boxes are still piled high, but we are methodically unpacking them, one by one.

Already we’ve met many of our neighbors. One brought a lovely house plant to welcome us. Others dropped by to introduce themselves and welcome us in word. We live in a fantastic community.

Last week, we bought a refurbished washer and dryer. It was nicer than any other washer and dryer we’ve owned. We used one of those lease to own places, which is usually a truly horrible idea. The types of payment plans those places offer frequently amount to highway robbery; you can have everything you ever dreamed of, just sign away your soul on the dotted line. However, this particular place had a 120 days same a cash policy. When you have a family of 6, four members of which are under the age of 10, we didn’t think bargain hunting for this appliance would be prudent, however, just having bought a house, we couldn’t swing the full price up front. We could, however, easily pay off a set within three to four months. So we went into the shop, expecting to buy a new, but off-brand washer and dryer. At the first place, they didn’t even have the less expensive models in stock. Since waiting 2-4 weeks for a washer and dryer wasn’t an option (we wouldn’t have any clean clothes left!), we drove over to their second location to see what they had to offer. The other store branch had what we were looking for, but they also had a refurbished Maytag washer and dryer for sale in our price range. It was a nicer set; high efficiency, eco-smart (uses less water), and overall a more reliable brand. We signed the lease, and they delivered my new set 2 days later, on May 14th.

It was love! The set was quiet, could handle big loads, and worked quickly. I was back to my normal routine of doing several loads of laundry a day and enjoying every minute of it (except for folding; I’m not a fan of that part.) However, much to my dismay, two days ago, on May 20th, in an attempt to wash my son’s Spiderman bedding, the washer abruptly fritzed out. It stayed in the sensing mode and refused to spin the excess water out of the blanket. I was nearly in tears when I told my husband. He assured me that he would call the store we had our lease with the next morning and would fix the problem. He is my hero.

The next morning, he did call, and the store affirmed that our service warranty with them covered these things. They would send out an appliance repair man as soon as possible. Somewhat encouraged by their action, I resolved not to allow myself to freak out. Instead, I patiently went about unpacking other parts of the house, not getting stressed by the growing piles of laundry or the soggy blanket left in the broken machine. Lord, give me strength. Then, the store called back and informed us that since the set was over two years old, it was no longer under warranty with Maytag. However, since our warranty with them was active, they’d send out a replacement the next day.

The new set was just delivered this evening. It is a brand new Maytag Bravos washer and dryer! It has received good reviews by consumers, and the new dryer has a steam feature, “in case you don’t like to iron clothes”, the delivery man tells me. Is he psychic, I wonder.  The lease company isn’t charging us extra for the new set (easily an additional $400 dollars). This set remains under warranty from the store, but also through Maytag since it is this year’s model. The new set is just as quiet, just as efficient, and even more wonderful than our former set. I am still trying to wrap my brain around the unbelievably good outcome born through this series of events.

How is it possible that God cares about these things? He holds the world in His hand. He plans the routes of every beetle in my garden. He choreographs the waves that dance upon the beach unseen. He paints the sky and orchestrates each breeze that cause the leaves on the trees outside my window to tremble.

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? -Psalm 8:4 (ESV)

And here I am, with my relatively petty problems; living in a beautiful home with amazing kids, a hero of a husband and more clothes than I could wear in a week. Woe is me; my washer isn’t behaving. Yet, God did care. He does care. He undeniably worked the situation together my good and His glory just like He promised (Romans 8:28), even though I cannot love and serve Him perfectly this side of glory. Do you see it? He loves us. He delights in us. God, the perfect Father, knows what to get His children when He wants to give us a gift. He doesn’t need an Amazon wishlist. He already knew what would make my heart sing!

His kindness abounds, His love is obvious and I feel incredibly lucky to belong to Him.