Thursday, March 18, 2010

INTO EVERY LIFE.........


This was not one of my best weeks to put it mildly.
So here is my SAD story :o(
The menu for The King's Kitchen this Tuesday was stew. We bought round steak, I very much dislike the packaged stew meats they sell. I decided we needed to be sure the meat itself was extra tender, since we are serving the elderly and shut-ins. SOOO Monday night when we met with the cooks to cut up the potato's, carrots, and all the ingredients for the fruit salad to go with the stew and cornbread I decided to bring home the meat to cut-up so I could cook it in my pressure cooker.
By the time we got home at 7:30 I was too tired to prepare it that night but Mickey helped me and we got it all cut-up in small bite size pieces and placed in the refrigerator.
Tuesday morning I arose at 3:30 (no big deal for me.....as most of you know I'm up at the hour a great deal of the time). Because there was so much meat to prepare I had to do it in two separate batches. I floured all the pieces, browned them in a skillet and placed them in my pressure cooker with beef broth. By 4:30 I was finished with the first batch. I took a small break and at 5 washed out my pressure cooker and began flouring and browning the second batch.
I KNEW BETTER - I TRULY DID so I can't even call it an accident!!! I failed to dry off the pressure cooker. When I placed it on the stove I heard it sizzle (from the water on the pan) and SHOULD (oh don't we love those SHOULD HAVE'S) immediately removed the pan but I did not. I turned the burner up to build up the steam and a few minutes later heard a loud POP. I knew instantly what had happened. My ceramic cooktop range was cracked.
Poor Mickey is sound asleep in bed at 5 a.m. when I burst through the bedroom door, waking him up, crying and telling him what I had just done. He is so sweet and just keeps reassuring me, "Honey, accidents just happen.". But, I know this was not an accident - it was stupidity!!!
So, this strong woman of faith !!!! begins to doubt with thoughts and words like this ......#1 "We'll
never be able to find a replacement top ". #2 "We'll have to buy a new self-cleaning, ceramic cooktop Kenmore range". I even went so far as to get on line and find out a replacement would run over $1,000 plus tax, etc. etc. I'm sure you get the picture.
So, to bring this far to long story to a close.....by mid-afternoon (after we finished up at the church preparing and delivering the meal and returned home about 1 p.m.) my dear husband not only located the part, in Atlanta, GA, but had the order placed and the new cook-top being shipped to us. The cost $249 plus shipping. Whee....much better than we, rather I, "feared".
I wish I had a picture to show you.....but the damage was just hair-line cracks that barely show and wouldn't show at all in a photo.
One of the woman at church last night said to me, "Isn't that just like the devil to attack you in the very area of ministry you step out in. You begin a feeding/cooking program and your cooktop gets ruined". Well, Mickey & I had, and have, already declared, "No attacks and no set-backs are stopping the work that God laid on Mickey's heart and that has been begun."
So after wavering in faith for a brief time, confessing and asking forgiveness of God for being "faithless" we are back on tract and the cook-top is somewhere between there and here.
Thank you Jesus for YOUR faithfulness!!
I'm also claiming Romans 8:28 in this matter:
And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.

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18 comments:

retha said...

'and they over came by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony. They did not love their lives' (or something like that)
It seems to time and again we have to continue in these footsteps.

Hope it has arrived by now.

Mary said...

Oh, man! Thank Goodness you are going ahead with what God called you to do. Just think of what happened to Jesus every time He healed somebody or something: the Pharisees who watched his every move were constantly accusing him of doing wrong. We are always hindered, but we press on! Hope your new stove is a nice one.

Oklahoma Granny said...

I'm so very sorry for what happened to your stovetop but think of what a powerful testimony your story makes. God is always in control.

Sandra said...

I think many times when we enter into a ministry, God wants to grow our hearts to more devotion of that particular ministry. And one way of doing that is that we go through things that will cause us to have to put our own finances into that particular ministry.

Yours was buying a new cooktop and you didn't quit cooking for those people when that happened to you did you!!! You kept going forward when some would have just quit.

When you meet Jesus face to face, He will say "Remember when your stove broke because you were cooking for me?" Then He will reward you with something special that will last throughout eternity.

Anonymous said...

Even with a set back there is NO stopping you two! Oh, the enemy must be steamin' mad! LOL

You keep up the good work the Lord has placed before you. The blessing will far out weigh the battles!

Jill said...

oh gosh - so sorry sweet friend. And a thank you for the warning... I had no idea this could happen. I have a ceramic cooktop, too and will be more careful.

Mari said...

What a wonderful testimony of god's faithfulness! Thanks for sharing your doubts followed by the joy of standing firm!

Momma Roar said...

You 2 are an amazing team (well, you 3!)

Keep at it!!!

Tiffany said...

What the devil means for evil, God means for good. I love that reminder! Thank the Lord for our husbands whom He works through to send us a tender comforting touch sometimes. What a wonderful blessing that you are both in this together serving the Lord through your service to others. :) I hope my husband and I will be called to take part in something special like this one day!

Unknown said...

What a great testimony to us tho' Susan! At least you know/knew to confess and move on. How many times do we Christians fall short, but continue on without confessing it and getting our hearts right with God? And you are so right in pushing forward. AS you know, my dad is a pastor of many years with mom faithuflly serving beside him. Satan has attacked their health more than any other area, trying to keep them down. Your statement about pushing on no matter what Satan tries reminds me so much of my folks. They are such a determined pair and God has used them mightily, just as He is/will use you and Mickey. Finish the course with that ultimate prize in mind!!

Fitter After 50 said...

...and sometimes we "crack" under pressure too, huh?

Kahri said...

(((HUGS))) Love you Susan! You are a testimony, even in your weakness. (we all have weaknesses, and it is great to see your wisdom that came from yours.) Love you!

kc bob said...

I appreciate your heart for ministry Susan and happy that things worked out this week!

Maxine said...

Oh my! I was on the edge of my seat reading your story waiting to find out what was going to go wrong! At first I thought you were going to say you ruined the stew! I can't explain why these things happen, but they do and nothing is outside of God's Will. Glad you're getting a new part and you quoted the exactly appropriate verse. Keep pressing on, Susan and Mickey! There will be snags and falls,but keep serving the Lord as long as He gives you breath and strength.

Unknown said...

Oh Susan ... all I could think of was "What a mess!"

We had the door to our range shatter into a billion pieces on Christmas Eve afternoon, just a few days before we were supposed to turn the house over to our renters and move to NC.

My husband did the same thing, and our renters put the glass door on.

I'm glad your story has a happy ending.

groovyoldlady said...

God is so faithful!!! I do the same oh-my-word-I've-ruined-everything type of thinking when I may a mistake. Isn't it a blessing that our husbands and, more importantly, our precious God are SO MUCH more merciful to us than we are to ourselves??!!

Barbara said...

How things do work together for good but often it takes us a while to see it.
No condemnation there, that's what the enemy would want. God just picks us up an says 'keepwalking'

Brenda said...

I know this is a late comment, but I see how hard this was on you. Glad it turned out in the end. That is something, like your friend said, that it would be 'kitchen related'. Looks like Satan was trying to make a statement. What an idiot he is!