Lessons from a faulty furnace

I know one segment of our economy that isn't hurting these days. I tried to get someone to come and fix my furnace today and had to try five different vendors before I finally got someone who would even consider taking my call. The response I got from two of the five was that they had a two week waiting list. A third told me that he specialized in gas furnaces and recommended someone else. One guy didn't even bother to call me back.

We finally got someone to come out. He solved our problem for $130 and had us up and running within an hour. I am happy for these companies. The whole experience did make me rethink my assumptions in a number of areas though.

First, although there are certain sectors of our economy that are hurting, there are others that are humming along just fine. It made me think about the fact that sometimes we feel as if our life is falling apart. We don't know if we can make it. Today the thought hit me that sometimes we need to step back and look at the big picture. There may very well be a lot of things going for us even when one or two things are not. We need to count our blessings especially in those times.

Second, if you don't have success with your first effort, you need to keep trying. I think that is what Jesus was saying when he told the story about the woman who banged on the door of the judge. He said we need to be persistent and God will answer our prayers.

Third, you can never plan for every emergency. We thought we had our heating concerns covered this winter. My wife had covered all the bases. We didn't plan for this emergency though. It reminded me that you just have to do the best you can but always be aware that things come up. Then you have to go with the flow and improvise and so the best you can. Last night we snuggled up with our electric heaters and made it through the night. The point is, we had a contingency plan in place and we went with it when we needed it.

Thankfully we always have choices. Praise God.

Cal