Tuesday, February 25, 2014

that time my buzzer broke

I have a perfectly decent range in my kitchen. It boils water, bakes a casserole and broils meat. It's a nice neutral color and it's fairly easy to clean. We bought it second hand a few years ago and it serves us well.

Except for the timer. It has never worked. I learned the hard way the first time I tried using the timer and went away to do some other chores, counting on the buzzer to sound and bring me back for the brownies. When the scorched smell of blackies (no way we could call them brownies) brought me rushing back to the kitchen, that was when I learned that the timer on the oven did not work. I threw out the brownies/blackies , set the poor pan to soak and added "buy kitchen timer" to my grocery list.

The other afternoon I was heating up a casserole and when it was done, I removed it and set it down on top of the range, a little heavily. Apparently this bump triggered something inside the timer mechanism because the timer suddenly went off.

BZZZZZZ!!!

A very annoying BZZZZZZ!!!

I messed with the timer, trying to turn it off but with no success. I twisted and pulled, pushed and even banged on the oven top again, hoping it would cause the loud rasping noise to cease! Nothing worked. IN fact the timer knob-dohickey came off in my hand and the BZZZZ continued BZZZZING. Finally, in desperation, and to save my sanity, I went to the breaker box and flipped the breaker for the range.

Silence.

Aaaah.

That was fine and dandy except at some point I was going to need to turn the oven back on! Bruce got home too late that evening to want to mess with it. The next morning I used the microwave and toaster to make breakfast, and put all the ingrediants in a crock pot for a supper stew. That evening after he'd been fueled by a tasty soup, he tackled the range.

Several screws, and knob removals later, he found his way into the housing of  the buzzer mechanism and discovered where it was wacky. The Why was something else. There seemed to be no real logical explanation for why the little metal piece worked its way up against the vibrating piece that causes the buzz to emit. But it was fixable... A couple of twists of the metal away from the vibration mechanism and the problem was solved. The buzzer would never bother us again! It  would never work again either, but at least peace was restored to our household. All was well.

I suppose sometimes I'm like that little buzzer. I am by nature pretty easy going. I maintain a calm presence for the most part. But I am a passionate person. I feel things intensely. And once in awhile, something sets me off internally. Something jiggles loose and sets me a'vibrating. I reach my aggravated point and BZZZZZZZ!!!! I get myself all wound up and let it fly. (usually its my husband who bears the brunt of this.) The worst part of this is that I don't really have a valid reason for getting all buzzy. Being irritated or angry with just cause is one thing but I'm talking about reactions like the wacky buzzer on my range.

not my most flattering picture and my husband risked his life taking this given my mood at the time,
but it serves as a good reminder on the non-attractiveness of being cranky. 

As I ruminated on how like my oven timer I sometimes can be, I was struck by the notion that if I don't find a way to defuse my anger--to turn my buzzer of-- Somebody might just flip my breaker switch and shut me down.  Ecclesiastes 7.9 says: Don't be quick to fly off the handle. Anger boomerangs. You can spot a fool by the lumps on his head. (from the Message) Well, I certainly don't want lumps on my head! And I don't relish the idea of having my breaker switch flipped off any more than I like the idea of acting in a less than mature and loving way. I don't want my irrational side to have control. I would much rather be controlled by the Holy Spirit.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5.22-25

You'd think I'd have this by now. 

How about you? How do you handle life's irritations?








3 comments:

  1. Your adventure with the timer cracked me up! Life--when it begins to get the better of me, I go exercise and talk to the Lord there--then I almost always feel calmer. I feel guilty though that my coping mechanism isn't going directly to God's Word.

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    1. Thanks for sharing Lisa. I hear you! I want to get better at always going to Him first for everything!

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  2. I can relate to this post. I even wrote a little on it in my post today. Great verses of wisdom you shared. :)

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