hidden messes
I will spare you the details
leading up to the big decision(s) I made mid December.
I have been waiting, mostly patiently,
to see the results of my commitment.
I bought new kitchen appliances.
I have never had all new appliances.
Thankfully I never had a need to replace them all at the same time.
Stove.
Refrigerator.
Dishwasher.
Microwave.
Not only new appliance,
but new styles (and a new brand) as well.
I stepped out on a limb and went with something other than white.
Gulp.
Stainless Steel.
I chose a ceramic stove top instead of electric coils,
with a convection oven by accident,
I just wanted the stove with the largest oven.
When it came to my refrigerator
I looked at the newer styles
french doors, freezer on bottom,
and picked a side by side so my cabinets would not need moved.
Wanting no water/ice dispenser in the door further limited my choices.
The upside is without those features I have more freezer space.
It will take time to adjust to a new configuration.
A dishwasher is pretty basic,
but my new one has options for where to put the silverware basket
and the control panel is on the top of the door rather than on the front.
I bought an over the range microwave that has a built in range hood.
I have never had one of those either.
Neither a range hood nor an over the range microwave.
Oh. My. Word. It is huge!
For some reason they don't look so big mounted.
But I am ahead of myself with all of those descriptions.
The time I spent on research before making my choices was significant.
The money I invested was more than I have ever spent at one time by myself.
I began to doubt myself-what if I got them and didn't like them?
Mid January I went to the store to check on delivery
the salesman anticipated about 3 weeks and it had been 4 with no word.
I was also concerned about it matching since I didn't purchase a package deal.
He had printed off pictures of my appliances-
the refrigerator he showed me had dispensers in the door.
Someone had ordered the wrong one.
I am guessing they thought he had written down the wrong product number.
Who orders a new refrigerator without water and ice in the door?
Me.
A new waiting period began.
Stress accompanied each of those "steps".
When I went to check on my order last week
six weeks out from original order
the salesman had been told delivery could be the end of next week.
The past two days I have been trying to decide if I should cancel my order
and ask for my deposit back.
My thinking was maybe God was protecting me from a bad investment.
I really didn't want to do that.
I know the salesman personally.
At the least it would be uncomfortable and embarrassing for both of us.
More stress.
Then I got a phone call yesterday morning-
"Donnette, this is xxxxx. Everything is here. When do you want us to deliver?"
"When can you deliver?"
"Well, I know we have guys free today and tomorrow."
He probably did not know what to think when I hesitated
after all, I had been in the store several times to check on delivery
but I was mentally scrambling, trying to order my thoughts.
Yesterday was a full day,
between errands I needed to run
and a house full of Funk's and Howie's and Maxey's
along with Bible Study last night I didn't think it wise to choose yesterday.
Yes, today, after lunch, would definitely be a better delivery day.
I got up knowing there were things I needed to move before 1 PM.
I thought I would start with the stove.
I needed Kyle to pull it out.
Oh. My. Word. Embarrassing.
I was thankful it was family and not the delivery guys seeing what I saw.
Toys, spatulas, tea bags, crumbs, dust, dirt, unidentified sticky, misc.
Disgusting.
I slid the old refrigerator across the room to plug it in,
knowing it would take time for the new one to get cold
so I could safely transfer our food over,
and was pleased that clean up behind and underneath was not bad.
That happens when you can easily move things to clean them.
Ruth and I worked together to remove the dishwasher.
Again, gross.
But when I swept up the pile of dust I found a bracelet she had made.
I smiled from the inside out.
She smiled, remembering making it.
You never know when or where a good memory will show up.
Hardwired in, my dishwasher was not meant to be moved.
Some, like what was under the refrigerator are not as bad,
because I have taken the time to pull it out and clean intermittently.
Some messes are nasty because of neglect.
It was possible to move the stove to clean but it was a challenge so I didn't.
In summary, there are at least three lessons I learned.
1) Don't be lazy. Do what you can, when you can.
leading up to the big decision(s) I made mid December.
I have been waiting, mostly patiently,
to see the results of my commitment.
I bought new kitchen appliances.
I have never had all new appliances.
Thankfully I never had a need to replace them all at the same time.
This post ended up unusually long.
If you want a short version,
skip to the *** just above the pictures at the end and read from there.
Stove.
Dishwasher.
Microwave.
Not only new appliance,
but new styles (and a new brand) as well.
I stepped out on a limb and went with something other than white.
Gulp.
Stainless Steel.
I chose a ceramic stove top instead of electric coils,
with a convection oven by accident,
I just wanted the stove with the largest oven.
When it came to my refrigerator
I looked at the newer styles
french doors, freezer on bottom,
and picked a side by side so my cabinets would not need moved.
Wanting no water/ice dispenser in the door further limited my choices.
The upside is without those features I have more freezer space.
It will take time to adjust to a new configuration.
A dishwasher is pretty basic,
but my new one has options for where to put the silverware basket
and the control panel is on the top of the door rather than on the front.
I bought an over the range microwave that has a built in range hood.
I have never had one of those either.
Neither a range hood nor an over the range microwave.
Oh. My. Word. It is huge!
For some reason they don't look so big mounted.
But I am ahead of myself with all of those descriptions.
The time I spent on research before making my choices was significant.
The money I invested was more than I have ever spent at one time by myself.
I began to doubt myself-what if I got them and didn't like them?
Mid January I went to the store to check on delivery
the salesman anticipated about 3 weeks and it had been 4 with no word.
I was also concerned about it matching since I didn't purchase a package deal.
He had printed off pictures of my appliances-
the refrigerator he showed me had dispensers in the door.
Someone had ordered the wrong one.
I am guessing they thought he had written down the wrong product number.
Who orders a new refrigerator without water and ice in the door?
Me.
A new waiting period began.
Stress accompanied each of those "steps".
When I went to check on my order last week
six weeks out from original order
the salesman had been told delivery could be the end of next week.
The past two days I have been trying to decide if I should cancel my order
and ask for my deposit back.
My thinking was maybe God was protecting me from a bad investment.
I really didn't want to do that.
I know the salesman personally.
At the least it would be uncomfortable and embarrassing for both of us.
More stress.
Then I got a phone call yesterday morning-
"Donnette, this is xxxxx. Everything is here. When do you want us to deliver?"
"When can you deliver?"
"Well, I know we have guys free today and tomorrow."
He probably did not know what to think when I hesitated
after all, I had been in the store several times to check on delivery
but I was mentally scrambling, trying to order my thoughts.
Yesterday was a full day,
between errands I needed to run
and a house full of Funk's and Howie's and Maxey's
along with Bible Study last night I didn't think it wise to choose yesterday.
Yes, today, after lunch, would definitely be a better delivery day.
I got up knowing there were things I needed to move before 1 PM.
I thought I would start with the stove.
I needed Kyle to pull it out.
Oh. My. Word. Embarrassing.
I was thankful it was family and not the delivery guys seeing what I saw.
Toys, spatulas, tea bags, crumbs, dust, dirt, unidentified sticky, misc.
Disgusting.
I slid the old refrigerator across the room to plug it in,
knowing it would take time for the new one to get cold
so I could safely transfer our food over,
and was pleased that clean up behind and underneath was not bad.
That happens when you can easily move things to clean them.
Ruth and I worked together to remove the dishwasher.
Again, gross.
But when I swept up the pile of dust I found a bracelet she had made.
I smiled from the inside out.
She smiled, remembering making it.
You never know when or where a good memory will show up.
***change
It isn't easy.
It isn't easy.
It can be scary.
But sometimes we have no choice, it is necessary.
And sometimes change reveals hidden messes.
Some, like what was under the dishwasher, are unavoidably messy.
Some, like what was under the refrigerator are not as bad,
because I have taken the time to pull it out and clean intermittently.
Some messes are nasty because of neglect.
It was possible to move the stove to clean but it was a challenge so I didn't.
In summary, there are at least three lessons I learned.
1) Don't be lazy. Do what you can, when you can.
2) Not being able to see it doesn't mean it isn't there.
3) Keep your eyes open.
 |
| Since I rarely moved or looked closely under the stove out of sight out of mind I thought my kitchen was cleaner than it was and some things I could have used were unavailable. I wonder how many places in my spiritual life need a close inspection and thorough cleaning? How many things am I depriving myself of? |
 |
| I would have missed the smile this bracelet brought if it hadn't been for the need to change out my dishwasher. I want to have eyes to see blessings waiting to be discovered or rediscovered, hidden in places that are only opened because something is broken. |
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