Unbalanced

BETHANY TIPPIN

My husband returned from his hunting trip tired, exhausted, and with a whole pile of necessary laundry. Kindly, he decided to take care of said laundry himself, plugged in the broken washing machine, said a little prayer, and hoped it would work. It did. Stinky laundry washed and appropriately spun. We celebrated over his good fortune. 

A few days later, as the mounds of laundry around the house continued to grow, I asked if he thought the machine would do it again? He said, “I have no idea, but certainly try it.” I threw in a small load of the most important items… and incredibly, the washer cycled appropriately all the way through its program. Relieved, I moved the items to the dryer with prayers of gratitude rising from my heart and started another load. (Who knew!? Laundry, my domestic nemesis, became a place of gratitude.) 

I said out loud, “Hey, I’ve been careful to wash pretty small loads, knowing I don’t want to deal with too much sopping wet laundry when/if our problem starts again—and the washing machine has run fine. How is it that leaving it unplugged for a week and a half seems to have fixed it?” Did it just need a rest?! Hubby said, “Well, the company said it is sometimes a software issue where it gets stuck in ‘unbalanced’ mode. Unplugging it for a long time may have reset it.” I laughed out loud. 

“Maybe I need to be unplugged for a while…” 

How desperately I need a reset or a reboot when I get stuck in ‘unbalanced’ mode, too—and keeping the loads small is a great preventative measure after such a problem. At this realization, the voice of Wisdom rose inside me, “There is a time for everything… a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh…” (Ec 3:1-4) I’d read this scripture during a funeral earlier in the week. The repetition in very different circumstances rounded out my perception of its truth. Balance looks like remaining slow and small, embracing the season we’re facing with grace and spaciousness, choosing Jesus’ yoke which is promised to be “easy,” his burden “light.” (Mt 11:28) 

May you find simple and refreshing ways to unplug and find balance this week.