Hot Air! Hallelujah!

By Brenda Black

Whoever came up with the idea to use the smell of “fresh, line-dried laundry” as their inspiration for a fabric softner, never snapped a clothespin over a wet towel in their life! The clothes I’ve been hanging out to dry are not daisy fresh when I collect them. They are stiff and smell a little like mud from hanging in the country air permeated with chicken, horse, cow and hog additives. The rigid wear takes days to soften and is wrinkled like the crevices in a rock. I occasionally catch a whiff of sour due to the humid, steaming pile of wet clothes baking in the basket, while I fight the wind and wire lines and ration out clothespins.

It only took me about a week of this wonderful, additional chore, to motivate me to take matters into my own hands. I took the dryer apart! That meant I had to put it back together again. The friendly lady from the parts store recommended I begin down the pathway of least resistence. That, of course, translates into: “Get the cheaper part and hopefully that will fix it!”

With thermostat kit in hand, I resolved to play a matching game once I got behind that daunting, white cubical. I’d simply find those little doo-dads that looked like the new ones I just brought home. Take the old ones off. Put on the new. And hope it eliminated the problem. I had no idea what I was looking for or what I was doing.

Maybe that’s why I whipped out the vacuum cleaner as soon as I removed the back panel. Hey, I know what dust bunnies are and there were several in this hidden place I’d never cleaned. Besides, I needed a clear path to find my way in this foreign land.

After two hours of knuckle busting and corroded bolt twisting, I dislodged the two tiny suspects and proudly replaced them with the shiny, $26 dollar ones. Wisely, I plugged the dryer in and gave it a test run before replacing the back cover. You guessed it...nothing changed. I still had cold air.

This time, I pried out three more rusted bolts and took hostage the heating element. The nice lady at the store said that was the other possibility, but it would cost quite a bit more. The optimist in me counted on the less expensive remedy. I was wrong. Back to the parts store I went. This time I took with me the old stuff and had it checked. Sure enough, the parts I replaced were still good. The expensive one was broken. I swapped out a thermostat kit for a heating element plus more cash and drove back home to conquer the cold, white giant.

I was tickled pink, to say the least, when I cranked down the last screw and felt heat on the test drive! Oh, the first load out was delightfully soft and sweet! As an added bonus to my victory, I went to lunch with my parents to celebrate my birthday, while the dryer stayed home and did the work I had been doing for the past seven days.

I’m not sure if I got more satisfaction from having the luxury of a modern-day convenience back in service or surmounting a brand new challenge. As plush as my towels felt, it was my pulse surging with excited confidence that I remember. The struggle with the dryer made me realize I was capable of doing more simply because I was forced into the situation.

The fact is sometimes we’re forced to face obstacles. We are confronted with circumstances we’ve never before seen. We are confounded with strange looking situations and pressured to “shoot-from-the-hip” with strategies for overcoming the problems.

Many times, the pathway of least resistence looks the safest. In the end, it often leaves us right back where we started; the problem is still a problem. When we finally take off the protective cover we’ve anchored around our lives and venture into unknown places, willing to explore new options and ideas, then we find solutions. A problem can only be rectified if we realize what’s broken.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24)

Finding the answer may be costly. It may require sacrifice in the way of your time, pride, convenience or money. In the end, however, the warmth and soft touch from a God who leaves a sweet fragrance in your life is worth the effort.

Whatever is broken, He can fix it. Don’t be surprised, though, if He asks you to do the labor.