Conversation with a Dishwasher

I think my portable dishwasher spoke to me last night. But before you start looking through the yellow pages for the nearest psych ward you can get me into, let me tell you what happened.

Although I like the little bit of extra counter space my portable dishwasher gives me, it's in the way as much or more than it's not. We have to wheel it over by the sink when we are running it, during which times it creates quite the little obstacle course. Just inside the doorway, we have a bread box that sticks out from the wall. When entering the kitchen, you have to bend just enough to keep your head from hitting the bread box while staying back far enough to maneuver the rest of your body around the dishwasher. You then slide sideways between the dishwasher and the center island before you make your final twist to freedom. I can't tell you how many times I hit my head on the bread box before I got the maneuver down.

Last night, I had to go in the kitchen while the dishwasher was running. As I was leaving the kitchen, I realized I had quickly ducked and weaved through the familiar course without even so much as turning a light on. I was really impressed with myself, knowing exactly how far to bend and turn to make it through without hitting anything. And this got me to thinking about life in general. How many things had there been in my life that I failed at over and over before finally getting it right? Then after FINALLY getting it, it becomes so natural you can do it without even thinking!

And that's where the brakes screeched and my thoughts came to an abrupt halt. "Without even thinking". Now, I'm not one that wants to go on whacking my head through all eternity. I want to learn and to change. But I don't ever want to become so comfortable with my valuable life-lessons that I begin to operate in them mindlessly.

Here's where it gets hard to explain. I think all the lessons in my life that have come harder to me have been the things I most appreciate when I FINALLY get them. Sometimes having battle scars makes the victories sweeter. Once we finally get that victory, it's certainly worth celebrating, but I don't think it was ever meant to stop there. It's great to have overcome, and it's even great if it begins to come naturally to us. But if we reach the point where we're no longer mindful of it, how do we use it to help others?

Peter seemed to always be very mindful of his life-lessons. He never thought, "I'm good now. That's all that matters." In his letters you can see very clearly where he passed along to others the things that Jesus had taught him, and that his life experiences had taught him. Some of those things did not come easily. In fact, he did a lot of suffering before some of his breakthroughs. But then you read his letters and you see that he is passionate about helping others see what he's learned. I can't imagine how many people he's helped with that encouragement. I know he's helped me.

So we may very well be the ones who get the privilege of getting knocked in the head a few times before the lights finally go on, but that doesn't mean we're the only ones meant to benefit from it. How much brighter will the light of revelation be if we keep our eyes open for opportunities to share it with others who may be struggling with the same things??!! Do we take the time to notice when people are struggling with the same things that we used to struggle with? I guess I just don't want the victories to become so natural to me that I forget what it was like before I had them.

I may be at the place where I'm able to maneuver around the dishwasher with the lights off, but I think may be of more help to others if I keep the lights on and pay attention.