Stovetops and Infections

Well, Bless My Heart!

Here’s a riddle. What does a cracked stove top and a sinus infection have to do with each other?

The common denominator is ME!

Here’s another question for you. Did you hear the joke about the bride who didn’t know how to boil water?

Here’s a new one. Did you hear about the old lady who knew how to not only boil water but burn the water? And the pan? And the stove top? All because of a sinus infection?

Yesterday, I was editing another novel and decided to multitask – ALWAYS a mistake with me! I put on water to boil to add moisture to the air to help my breathing during my annual sinus infection. I had no idea how quickly the water would evaporate, and I was clueless the pan had boiled dry until Ronald came hustling into the great room.

“Don’t you smell something burning?”

“My nose is plugged.”

“Don’t you see the smoke?”

I looked up from my computer and admitted there was a little sooty mist hanging in the air.

Ronald turned off the stove and tried to lift the pan. “The pan is stuck to the stovetop.”

“Leave it,” I said wisely. “When everything cools off, it’ll come up.”

He left the room shaking his head. A few minutes later, there was an ominous cracking sound from the direction of the kitchen. I left my work to examine my new disaster. Lo and behold, the top had cracked from the front burner to the back corner.

Sigh. Despite my and David Maguire’s advice to avoid Black Friday deals, it looks like I’ll be trying to find a bargain on a new appliance.

But I have to admit, this wasn’t as exciting as the last stovetop I cracked. I dropped the stove’s exhaust fan on that one. In that case, I was doing a good thing by cleaning the rascal. In both cases, the stoves are just old enough that the replacement parts are no longer available.

Which brings me to my point. Do you ever have good intentions that totally blow up in your face? How is that even fair? Have you reached out to others in love and been rejected? At that point, do you get too discouraged to try again?

I seldom have the answers to life’s quandaries. Many times as the above stories show, it is through my lack of focus and attention or klutzyness that disasters strike. With relationships, sometimes maybe I expect something that will never be. Or maybe I went about showing my care or concern for another without thought for what that person really needed as opposed to what I considered important.  I don’t even know if this is making sense to anyone but me. With all the meds I keep shoving in, there isn’t much that makes real sense to me but to go take a nap.

But here’s something that makes total sense and speaks of the Scriptures’ purpose. “For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.” Romans 15:4 NIV

I sure hope this is the last stovetop I crack for a long while.

Blessings

KB