Dryer Lessons

I tried to tune out the screeching sounds coming from my dryer … but the shrill sound cut through all too clearly. I tried rocking the dryer and redistributing the load. I tried everything I could think of, and yet still it screeched on and on and on. Coming to the end of my very limited knowledge of dryers I gave up and turned the TV volume up, but over the following weeks, the sound just got worse. Realizing that the dryer was winning this fight, I spoke with Dan, my fount of knowledge of all things mechanical who came to take a look at the problem. He turned the dryer on and listened to the repertoire of screeches it had developed and decided that he really needed to take a look inside.

 Pulling the dryer out from the wall was my first “oh no” moment. Lint, cobwebs, dog hair, dirt and a variety of things that had fallen behind the dryer over the years was piled up behind the dryer. I grabbed a broom and a spray bottle and got to work on it as Dan tipped the dryer over. That is when I got my second “Oh no” moment as the chiming of falling coins against the side of the dryer rang out. As Dan began to take the dryer apart I got my third “oh no” moment because the inside of my dryer was full of lint and ick. I began to vacuum and clean anything I could get  to as Dan took piece after piece off my dryer. With the dyer pieces spread out around us, Dan called me over to take a look.  I got my fourth and final “oh no” moment at that point. Even though I know nothing about dryers and dryer parts, even I could tell that the belt running around the top of the drum was worn out and in pieces. As Dan put the dryer back together again, I wrote down model and serial numbers so I could order parts. There was hope in sight for the end of the screeching.

As I have thought about my dryer I have come to realize that there are life lessons for me to learn in all of this. First, it is good to pull things out every once in a while and take a look at it. Just like there were hidden problems behind the dryer, there could be things hidden in my own life that need cleaning out. Secondly, I need to be careful of what I put into my life. In the same way that the loose change could have damaged the workings of the dryer, I need to watch for things that could harm me and make sure that what I put into my life is healthy for body, mind and spirit. Thirdly, there are times that what is old and broken needs to be discarded just like the broken part of the dryer.. Habits and attitudes that are causing problems, I need to find uplifting replacements for what is broken and unusable. Fourthly, I need to remember that ignoring a problem does not make it go away, sometimes the problem gets worse, just like my screeching dryer.

I am also reminded that this year stretches before me an unwritten book. If God can teach me life lessons with my broken dryer, imagine the other things I  might learn this year as my story is written.

 

Just Connie