Bottled Ponderings: The Car, The Dishwasher and The Space Ship

Thursday, April 3, 2014

The Car, The Dishwasher and The Space Ship

So it looks like I won't get out of Lent a rich man. After all the money spent on repairing, maintaining and resurrecting dying car(s) the dishwasher gasped it's last sputter mid-cycle. It's the irreparable kind of sputter, the one that said "out with the old, in with the new so part ye with thine hard-earned riches". I have never despaired over things breaking before as I feign mastery of the virtue of (material) detachment. But the dishwasher broke in the middle of the joyful planning of home improvement projects, the ones that should have been done three years ago. There's no room for replacing broken appliances in the budget. And, of course, once I started despairing over such a trivial thing (because, thank the Lord, we can actually afford to replace a dishwasher albeit sacrificially!) all the heartaches of the past year summoned itself into my brain. Things that have already passed and smoothed over through God's grace came flooding back as I dramatically give over to another "why me, why these unending sorrows" moment.

As I lament this minor misfortune in prayer the prophet Jeremiah brought me back down to earth with today's reading: "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose hope is in the Lord. He is like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It fears not the heat when it comes, its leaves stay green; In the year of drought it shows no distress but still bears fruit"

That very image of roots stretched out to the stream brought me peace. If I am truly rooted in Christ I have to have a detached heart from broken things, unbalanced budgets and all the minor (and major!) inconveniences of this earthly life. It is a hard thing to practice in reality but the image of roots on the stream is where my peace lies (momentarily LOL).

Now that we know I have given all my alms to the car repair shop and the appliance store let us rejoice in the fact that I am gaining a space ship. And for that alone I have gotten my money's worth.