Friday, September 16, 2016

I Will Give You Rest


Matthew 11:28
Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

A week ago today, our dishwasher gives up the ghost.

I had just run a successful load and emptied it, when my husband, Danny, decides it's high time to clean the detachable vents in our stove hood.  (And believe me, with all the cooking he does, they need it often!)  But no sooner has he arranged the vents on the racks, selected the wash cycle, and pressed start, when the washer simply stops, it's "error" code flashing impudently, daring us to resolve the problem.

Frustrated, Danny tries other wash cycles to see if the appliance will get over itself.  Sadly, his efforts are fruitless.  When he researches the error code on line, the glaring cause points to the control panel itself.  And the cost to repair that?  Five-hundred dollars!

"At this rate," Danny admits, "I might as well bite the bullet and order us a new dishwasher."

"Honey, you don't have to right now if you don't want to spend the money," I tell him.  "I really don't mind washing dishes by hand."

"No, no, I don't want you to have to do that," Danny insists.  "I'll find a deal and order one today."

He does just that, and the new dishwasher is scheduled to be delivered and installed on the very day you are reading this post.

Then something miraculous happens.

In the wee hours of Monday morning, our house loses electricity.  When Danny gets up to go to work, he notices that the power failure light on the supposedly deceased dishwasher is brightly blinking.  He opens and shuts the washer door to turn the light off.

But it gets him to thinking . . .

When Danny arrives home that evening, he announces, "I'm going to try and run the dishwasher one more time.  I have a hunch that the power outage just might have reset its brain."

"Like a reboot on a computer?"  I ask hopefully.

"Exactly!"

I am skeptical, but agree it's worth a try.  Wonder of wonders!  The dishwasher completes a full cycle without a glitch!

Stunned, and beside ourselves with delight, Danny observes, "But before I cancel the order, let's wait and run it again tomorrow, just to be sure."

We do, and once again, the old dishwasher renders a stellar performance!

Yes, it could be the power outage corrected the problem, but I have another theory.  Never in the four years we've owned this dishwasher have we ever, ever run back-to-back loads.  It's always enjoyed a recuperative rest for at least a day, if not longer.

Did it simply need to be still?  To catch its breath before charging ahead?

That, we will never know.

But this I do know:  You and I need to rest in the Lord, regularly and often.  We can't keep up a frantic pace, no matter how many responsibilities and "to-dos" we have, and not expect to run out of steam.  It's inevitable.

So you who are weary and whose burdens are many, will you accept Jesus' invitation to lay them at His feet today?  He will give you rest and the peace of God, which passes all understanding.

The very rest you need to keep going for His glory.

~

Speaking of rest, Danny and I are headed to Jekyll Island this coming Monday for a much needed vacation.  I will not be blogging next week, and will probably not visit any of your blogs during that time as I plan to keep all social media interactions to a minimum.  After all, how often is it we get to go to the beach?  I plan to enjoy every moment.

See you back here on Tuesday, September 27th.

Love and blessings, always!


18 comments:

  1. Martha, How interesting that your dishwasher worked after the "reset"! Rest is so important for the whole of us. I know that my entire being craves rest at times. In fact, a spiritual retreat sounds so good right now; however, I'm not sure how to get it accomplished. Enjoy your vacation!

    Love and blessings!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. A spiritual retreat sounds heavenly, Kim! I'm hoping our visit to Jekyll Island will provide exactly that for the both of us.
      And yes, the "resurrected" dishwasher still amazes me!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  2. great story! $500, wow. Danny sounds like a sweetheart to me. My dryer has a mind of its own and won't turn off every once in a while. I have to leave the door ajar and after a while, it rests. Like leaving your heart open - see you have me seeing spiritual lessons all over the place. lol Have a great weekend!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ooh, Jean, I'm so glad this made you see spiritual lessons everywhere. They truly are if we have the eyes to see and ears to hear.
      And yes, I have to agree, Danny is a sweetheart; God truly blessed me with this man, and I am ever grateful.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  3. Have a great time of rest and recharage Martha.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Martha! Have a wonderful time! Breaks are really important, and I hope your time away will be refreshing and restful.
    I remember reading once that sometimes we can fix our personal overloads by unplugging and restarting. Just like a computer. Your post underlines that beautifully.
    Blessings,
    Ceil

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, Ceil, I completely agree that breaks are not just important, but absolutely necessary, as I know you can attest to. I expect the beach and the ocean will reboot my heart and soul, and inspire my creativity.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  5. Divine repair Martha. I lost electricity once in my life and needed a pretty serious reboot :) It was the best thing that ever happened to me. I didn't ask for it and it came out of the blue but it changed my life. Have a wonderful vacation and see you soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Divine, indeed, Vishnu! And I certainly hear you when it comes to serious rebooting - life changing, and when we listen for God's plan, always for the best.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  6. Replies
    1. Thanks so much, Beckie, and thanks again for your kind words regarding my book!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  7. Oh, Martha! I'm so glad I came back and realized that you have two different blogs! The other is lovely, but this one helps me get to know YOU more personally...and I love what I see! And Yes, we DO need to be "recharged", renewed, restarted...quite often. I think God sometimes schedules little power outages to restore our functioning so that we can resume with strength and power! This was excellent! And, hopefully you cancelled that order before it was too late! Isn't God good?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. So great to see you here, Pamela, and so glad we've found each other's blog!
      Yes, we do need recharging and renewal every now and then. Our recent trip to Jekyll served the purpose for us. We are now home, with out power outages restored, and I'm looking forward to getting back to regular blogging here.
      Yes, we did cancel the order in the nick of time.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  8. This was a great story!! I love the lessons that God teaches us in the everyday things of life. Who knew a dishwasher could be such a wealth of spiritual wisdom! It's true, sometimes I need to flash an *error* code! And times of refreshment and renewal are so important. God knows that, and beckons us to His presence - to lie down in green pastures, to be led by still waters.

    GOD BLESS!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. To lie down in green pastures, to be led by still waters . . . Oh, yes, Sharon! We all need those breaks in our busy routines to regroup, refresh, and realize where the important things in life lay. It is all in God and His saving grace. Our recent trip to Jekyll Island in Georgia certainly helped me!
      Love and blessings!

      Delete
  9. Rest, sweet sweet rest. WE just heard of a place in California near us that caters to missionaries and pastors, gonna check it out for a future rest. Loved the story...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes, we all need rest, Betty, and our recent vacation gave us just that. Hope that place in California you plan to check out will be perfect for you.
      Love and blessings!

      Delete

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