The washing machine

Here we are! I am finally on vacation! This is going to be a well-deserved break in a very hectic daily life. My phone rings: my friend Alphee calling to ask if she can pass by next weekn in order to drop off her washing machine at my place. She is in the middle of a move, but will spend the summer in her home country before moving into her new place.

Without hesitating, I agree to it! This is a great opportunity for me to avoid the drag of laundromat for the next two months, so I am as happy as one can get!

When the day comes, this dear washing machine is entrusted to me and I promise the owner to take care of it as if it were my own.

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Super excited by the presence of this new "roommate", I give into endless laundries, until one day, excessive zeal pushes me to overload it, as I have neither time nor desire to spend the day washing clothes. But the instructions do state clearly that the maximum load allowed is 5 kg. "Pff! I so do not get why manufacturers always need to over-exaggerate the information they give." "I’ll go for it anyways! It’s not like something serious could happen if I don’t follow instructions this one time, right?"

Without further ado, I thus push the « start » button, and the cycle sets into motion. Super proud that I have shown myself to be smarter than the instructions, I engage in other activities as I wait for my clothes to be washed.

But suddenly, I hear a great "BOOM!" "Oh my gosh, the sound comes from the kitchen". I immediately run to this room, which was "hosting" "my" new appliance, and to my great surprise, I find water everywhere! I am dumbfounded! The drum (of the washing machine) (1) broke down under the weight of my +6kg of clothes. At this precise moment, I am trying to persuade myself that there is nothing to worry about and that there has to be a solution. So I pull myself together, and I quickly search the appliance’s proof of purchase, hoping to find a clause which could be in my favor. I race through the general terms and conditions and check the date of purchase, but bummer! … The guarantee is no longer valid, and I don’t have enough money to buy a new machine. I am devastated.

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"What will I possibly tell Alphee???" That’s when I remember that only one habit has always proven to be able to get me “out of my mess”, and suddenly, hope revives. "But of course! All there is left to do is pray, to ask God that He would operate a miracle in this circumstance. Why have I not thought about it earlier, instead of panicking as if that would help in any way!? "(2) I do want to highlight that I started by asking Him forgiveness for both my thoughtlessness and disobedience.

After praying, I muster the courage to call the shop where the machine had been bought. I lay out the problem to my interlocutor, with as much confidence as a person not the least bit guilty would have, and he solemnly answers: "We will retrieve the machine at your house to proceed to necessary repairs". Let me restate that the guarantee was NO LONGER valid. Needless to point out how exhilarated I felt when I hung up!!!

Upon my friend’s return from vacation, I was able to return the item to her. Little does she know of everything that happened while she was away ("tulip" is the loving nickname I have given her; so if you read me, now you know ! hehe! )

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He is GOOD, the God I serve. I have learned that He remains faithful despite our unfaithfulness (3), He whose Son, though righteous, agreed to offer His life to appease His Father’s wrath towards unrighteous human beings, constantly inclined towards evil (4). "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (5) If my action had been judged by a human court, I would have deserved to pay for my mistakes, because I was at fault. I should have reimbursed the cost of the machine, though I did not have the money.

I will not cease to thank Him – not only for what He has done in this specific circumstance, but more generally for who He is.

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Explanotory notes (cliquer sur les textes soulignés) :

(1) "The drum is a perforated metallic cylinder in which the laundry is laid." French Wikipédia

(2) "Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?" Matthew 6:27

(3) "If we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself." 2 Timothy 2:13 "[...] His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart." Psalm 91:4

(4) " Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:7-8

(5) Psalm 103:12

Translated by Katrien Daelman

#miracle #debts #prayer #faithfulness