Pastoral Thought--March 1

As we continue in our Lenten reflection I wonder, what are not good at? 

Let me tell you a little story. . . Jennifer and I recently bid farewell to our microwave. It was a nice unit that we bought from Costco. It served us well. . . or should I say that it 'kinda’ served us well. The dumb thing died after about 6 months of usage which I know is atypical of microwaves. As I read on-line, microwaves should live for years if properly cared for. Ours didn’t make it! The glass plate inside would spin; the time would count down. But it no longer heated up our food. As I am not an appliance technician (that was not a class that I could take at Seminary), I had no idea what to do to fix it. 

The only things that I know to do for a microwave, I did. 

It was clean inside. We wiped it out consistently so there is absolutely no food buildup in the microwave—on the walls or roof. I know that excessive ‘food participles’ left behind in a microwave can cause a unit to break down quicker. So we always keep it wiped out. Both of us make sure to cover any food that we reheat so that nothing ‘pops’ and sprays around the unit.

The second thing that I knew to do was keep the counter around the microwave clear. Proper airflow is important with a microwave. It needs room to circulate the air so that it does not overheat and burn up or burn out. I did that too. It had plenty of room and a dedicated power plug as well. 

Yet even though I completed both tasks to be best of my ability, the microwave died.

Now for some more backstory (I bet when you opened this email you didn’t think we’d we talking in depth about microwaves) . . . Jennifer and I have had a bad track record with microwaves over the years. We can’t seem to keep them functioning well. I don’t think that it is overuse, just bad luck. As I have outlined, we take care of them and yet I keep having to pitch them. It would appear that we are just not good at keeping them working. 

So what should I do? 

Stop buying microwaves or using them? Swear them off as a tool that I am obviously unable to use so they are unwelcome in my life? Chastise anyone I see buying one at Costco or Wal-Mart because they are irritating little machines that don’t work for us? Condemn the entire microwave industry and work to eradicate them from existence?  I could just the anti-microwave lobby. . . 

Perhaps, the answer is, I go out and buy a new unit because it is a handy appliance to have. I can take care of it the best that I can and recognize that some more attention to detail is necessary to keep it alive. Perhaps I live more gently and when I use it I seek to be kind and not overwork it. . . Am I still taking about microwaves or about our Christian faith practices in Lent? 

The traditional response to not being great a praying, or serving, or sharing our faith can be to over-reach and over-react. Perhaps we all have that little quirk in our lives that we are just not the best at handling. Perhaps grace is needed; perhaps attention is a good place to start. As you continue in Lent, what are you not good at as a Christian? Maybe there is an opportunity there to be a bit gentle with yourself and continue to work at being the Christian God calls you to be. . .

Blessings

Rev. Derek