My wife is convinced I have the ability to fix stuff. So, she is always asking me to fix something. When I “fix” something it usually means I spend a lot of time and money trying to figure it out and end up calling in a professional to finish the job.
Many years ago, we discovered the element in our electric oven had gone out. I could make a joke here about how we didn’t know how long it had been out because Gayla didn’t do a lot of cooking but that would get me in some serious trouble. So, I won’t make that joke.
Gayla informed me I needed to fix the element in the oven. I was hoping no one would have a replacement element, and we could just go buy a new oven. But no. The first stupid appliance store I called just happened to have one. I bought it.
Back home, I checked to make sure the oven was turned off, which I thought would mean there was no electricity lurking in the oven. I opened the oven door. I straddled the oven door, stuck my head into the oven and found where the element was connected at the back by two nuts. (Some of you are thinking that means there are three nuts in the oven now). I got my pliers and started to work.
Things were going swimmingly while I was loosening the nut on the left side of the element. Then it happened. Somehow, my pliers contacted both of the nuts at the same time. Until that moment in my life, I had no idea that just turning off the oven did not stop the flow of electricity in the oven.
So, I completed the circuit, and electricity surged through me. Then I immediately raised up and hit the top of the oven with the back of my head. My pliers disconnected from the element. I started down. Somehow, my pliers reconnected with the element, and I started back up until I hit the top of the oven with the back of my head again which started me back down.
On my way down, my pliers reconnected to those two nuts that started the whole thing in the first place. I completed the circuit again. But this time, thanks be to God, I fell out of the oven. I kind of landed on the open oven door, which had a weird little spring action that threw me out onto the floor.
I landed on my back at the feet of my dear wife. She looked down at me and said, “Is there anything I can get you?” There are a million answers to that one, but as evidenced by the fact that I am still married to the woman, I just blinked my eyes a lot and mumbled something.
When I finally recovered, I flipped every breaker in the house and waited about 30 minutes just to make sure any excess electricity had drained out. I repaired the oven element and used some baling wire to tie the oven door closed. It wasn’t safe for anyone to be in there.
You know the Lord gives us all different abilities, skills and talents. We are always better off using the ones He gave. And we are always better off when we ask others with different abilities, skills and talents to do what we can’t. Life just seems to work better that way. Kind of like the Lord planned it.
