We just take for granted so many of our modern conveniences, don’t we? I’ve learned a lesson or two about being thankful this past week. Hopefully in a few hours I will be especially grateful for a fixed and well running (once again) automatic washing machine!
Each Wednesday evening I volunteer and teach for a couple hours at our WOW ( Worship on Wednesday) youth program at church. We begin the evening with a meal served family style, and a gal who helps serve in the kitchen takes the wet and dirty towels home each week to launder them. Most of the time. But this past week she asked me to take her place as she was busy helping her husband with harvest.
Sure, no problem. Or at least I didn’t think there would be one. I came home, unloaded the wet towels and dishcloths into the washer and promptly forgot about them until Thursday morning. When I went to toss them into the dryer, the washer was flashing a bright, red E:04, and I could see the soggy towels laying in puddles of water through the front window. The door was tightly locked, so I decided to try running it through another rinse cycle to see if it would complete its job. Nope. After a few minutes of swishing around, the same bright red sign came on to tell me that something was wrong.
That’s when I decided to rummage through a drawer and find the book that came with the washer. ( Note to self: it’s time to organize these kinds of booklets in a file cabinet. Sure would save some time! ) On page 21 I found the title, “ Troubleshooting of Minor Faults”. After skimming through all kinds of faults and possible causes, I flipped over to page 22. There at the top it showed E:04! Ahhh, getting closer to some help, I thought.
It said under the column “ Possible Cause” that the machine had not drained completely, and that the pump is probably blocked. As I moved to the right, I found the final column labeled “Action”. It instructed me to clean the water drainage pipe and/or drain the hose.
O.K. I am not a plumber, nor especially handy with these kinds of things, so I now brought the problem to my husband’s attention. He did come look at it, on his way out to the combine. He tried to open the door, which I told him was locked tight. He said there was still water in the tub. Yup. I agreed. Then he said, “ I love you, but this is not a priority today. I will look at it later.”
I understood as it is November, and there is still corn to combine. A few days passed, with the towels still soaking in some stale bleached water. On Sunday afternoon we further attempted to assess the situation. We did make progress, getting to the hose and draining out about 3-4 gallons of water. At least then, the door could be opened to retrieve the wet mess inside. I was able to take the towels to another washer to rewash them, and then finish drying them. Finally that job was complete.
Now I am waiting for the repairman to come. After telling him all that we did and found, he said it is probably a pump gone bad. We do have the original pump on our eleven year old washer, so I won’t be surprised. This machine has been so faithful almost daily for that many years. I am grateful, I really am. When I am in our basement and glance at our old Maytag wringer machine sitting there quietly at rest, I quickly remember how much harder the task of laundry was. I could do it the old fashioned way if I had to, but I don’t want to!
Our lives overflow with things to be thankful for, because God gives us the eyes to see how incredibly we have been blessed. Philippians 4 tells us to “ rejoice in the Lord always”. I am going to strive to be thankful in the little moments as well as the times of rambunctious revelry.
The “fixer-upper” man just arrived. I am going to celebrate in quiet gratitude while he works, and stay in this place of thankfulness….even as I pay the bill. And when he leaves, I am going to wash another load…and remember my little granddaughter, Selah’s smile when she watches the clothes go “round and round”!!
lbeerman68@gmail.com
