Day Six: When Things Don't Work (or "How Waffle")

I understand that deep within us lie longings that, for reasons theologians and philosophers ponder, sometimes are left unfulfilled: truth, beauty, justice, meaningful relationships, for example. And also we want things to work. Mechanical things. Electric things. Computery things. Cell phones. We just want them to work. And when they don't emotions range from anger and frustration to sadness and disappointment. Things are just supposed to work. That's why I got a Mac, but that's another blog entry.

Melinda and I went shopping today to upgrade things around the farm house. For the past four years we've been doing with things my grandmother left, but I have to say it had been a long time since she had seen fit to think about linens and towels. So we drove to San Antonio and gathered the things to refurbish the place. New sheets and pillow cases for all the beds (three beds and three queen size sleeper sofas), new towels for three bathrooms, new comforters for two beds, and a new shower curtain. The shopping crowds were small and we got what we needed.

One item we pondered was in Anna's Linens. It was one of those soft padded toilet seats. Only this one was inscribed with Bible verses related to the Fruit of the Spirit, a list of highly desirable character traits produced by the Holy Spirit, listed by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5:22-23. Somehow that just didn't seem appropriate. At. All.


Our last stop was the new Super Wal-Mart in Floresville. We needed some twin sheets for a spare bed. As we passed through the household appliance section, however, something else caught our eyes. It was a gadget made by G.E. -- one of those waffle irons like they have at some of the chain hotels, the kind that you flip over after you pour the batter in. We have a crowd of friends visiting this weekend and we thought that waffles for breakfast would be fun one morning. So I grabbed one and added it to our carload of stuff.

We wisely thought we'd try it out tonight, and so, with Melinda not feeling well, I mixed the waffle batter, followed the instructions carefully, plugged it it, waited for the green light, poured in the batter, flipped it over, waited three minutes as instructed, and opened it up expectantly, ready for the first golden brown waffle of many to follow. What I had was a half cooked mess. I do make a lot of mistakes and messes, so my assumption was I had somehow screwed it up. I cleaned the waffle maker, waited for the green light, added another batch of batter, and waited five minutes. I opened it up to find a completely uncooked mess. The power light was on. The green "ready" light was on, but there was no heat in the waffle iron. It just didn't work.


I think that sadness and disappointment described my emotional state. There was no one to be angry at. It just didn't work. I pondered the Fruit of the Spirit again -- "The fruit of the Spirit is . . . patience. . .." I asked, WWICD? (What would the Iron Chefs Do?) I threw out the remainder of the waffle batter, mixed some pancake batter, heated up the griddle, and changed the menu.

After I finish writing I will try to find either the Baylor Bears men's basketball game or the Longhorns football game on the radio (if it is working) and I'll clean up the kitchen. I'll repackage the waffle iron and return it to Wal-Mart tomorrow.

Sometimes things don't work. We expect things to go one way and they go another. Pancakes (and a big mess to clean up) instead of waffles. And sometimes its worse than that. Our best response will be the fruit of the Spirit, though I am convince there are probably better locations for meditation on that truth than the toilet seat. Maybe not. Maybe that's the most appropriate place to think about how to respond when stuff happens.