DISHWASHER LEAKS

“I am really going to enjoy this vacation! No machinery to repair, no supplies to replenish, no one’s duties to relieve! I am just going to vegetate for a while!”

After the seven hour drive, we unloaded everything, and settled in. I sat down on the recliner in order to enjoy a new book I had brought with me.

Someone in our group had repaired a leaky dishwasher in our host’s condominium on their last visit, and asked how it was working. Unfortunately, it was still leaking.

Frustrated, he asked for the manual for the dishwasher, and came over to where I was reading, and put it in front of me, saying, “I can’t find anything here about the cause of leaks, have a look to see if you can.”

I was on vacation, enjoying my reading. I wasn’t in the mood to repair a dishwasher. However, the incident was brewing a storm! Between the low pressure system my nagging conscience had created, and the lighting bolts of suspicion that I might have an answer, I finally looked at the manual a little, put it down, and went into the kitchen.

He described how he had completely cleaned everything, installed a new seal, and made sure that everything was tight, but it was still leaking out of a vent!

When I saw some lint hanging out of the vent, I asked for a screwdriver and took it apart. I really didn’t know what I would find there, but I thought that it was worth a try.

Inside I found it full of lint. (Lint in a dishwasher?) Then my mind filled with insight, “That lint is acting like a wick, gathering steam from the inside, and carrying it to the outside.”

We cleaned it out thoroughly, and replaced it, and there were no more leaks, anywhere!

I had spent my childhood on a mission station in Africa. Even though we did have electricity, I was much more familiar with kerosene lanterns, (we called them paraffin lanterns), and knew how the flame would burn the liquid, and draw more from the reservoir beneath, keeping the light burning.

God knew the need of our host, and it was draining her. God knew the purpose of the one attempting to repair the dishwasher, and it was frustrating him. God knew my experience, and decided that I had too much to offer for far too little investment, and wasn’t going to let me get by without it!

A brand new dishwasher is really no better than a completely refurbished dishwasher that works, though we tend to think so. It is in understanding how it all works. I was one who understood that particular aspect, (although please don’t ask me to refurbish a control panel!) A new, identical model, could easily have developed the same problem in a few short months, and wasted the price of a new dishwasher!

The Bible says that “Wisdom is better than Rubies”, and also says that, "By humility and the fear of the LORD are riches, and honour, and life." (Proverbs 8:11, and 22:4) Money is just a medium of exchange. If the exchange can happen without money – it is even better!

Ah, but there is something else to consider. If I had not been helpful in the very kind of ideas that bring about a willingness to trade money for dishwashers that save hours of kitchen work, I could easily have found myself in a place where I needed the help the money could not buy myself. "Whoso stoppeth his ears at the cry of the poor, he also shall cry himself, but shall not be heard." (Proverbs 21:13)

Are there any storms in your life that can be calmed by helpful insight?

We rarely think about it, but insightful ideas tend to change the course of history – why wouldn’t they help with a dishwasher?

Ideas can be compared to a “Word”. God sent His “Word” into the world – the greatest “Idea” of all. Nothing will ever be the same again! His name is Jesus Christ.