This week, we have had problems with our heat in the main part of our home. We called Bob, our heating contractor, to come out, run the semi annual check-ups and change the filters, etc. He told us that there were some problems brewing and it would be difficult for him to recommend spending a ton of money on the current main furnace when it is already 20 years old. We figured we had a year or two left, but that wasn’t the case.
One of the main components has a problem with its bearings and the end could come at any time. Well, Friday night, the temperatures started dropping, I sent Bob a text (we have known him for more than 20 years) and he asked me to sit tight. Fifteen minutes later he was at our back door – after 10:30 p.m. on a Friday night. He’s just that kind of guy… Sure enough, the end was imminent.
Thankfully, he had a temporary fix that would get us through until Thursday, he hopes, when we have made the decision to have a new furnace installed. After all, with Janet’s RA, it is imperative that we keep the temps up in the house. At least it isn’t -20 degrees outside and we have been fortunate to have someone we know and trust to handle our HVAC needs throughout the years.
All indications are that his company has the time and the inventory to be able to get us what we need before a total system failure occurs. Since our home was built by an engineer that worked for Rolls Royce, everything was pretty much overbuilt and things get very pricey when they have to be replaced. Luckily, many of the sub systems can still be used in the new configuration. This whole episode has reminded us of our first Christmas in Indiana.
When we first moved to Carmel, in the Fall of 1982, we were already looking forward to returning to the Chicago area to celebrate Christmas with our family there. It was the first time that either Janet or I had moved away from our beloved Chicago. However, on Christmas Eve, our heat went out and we decided that it wouldn’t be prudent to leave the house. Our very young children were devastated – in fact, all of us were!
We had never used a heat pump and were unaware that the temps would drop so fast once the system failed. A dear neighbor, who had an electronics background, identified the problem and I called every HVAC company in central Indiana. I finally found a a kindly old gentleman who had the part we needed – and he would wait for me to drive about an hour to get the part from his warehouse.
I was feeling sorry for us as I got in the car and set off for parts unknown around 10:00 p.m. Christmas Eve. On my way north, I noticed a home along the highway engulfed in flames, being totally consumed by one of the brightest fires I have ever seen. The family was huddled along the highway, wrapped in blankets, while they watched their worldly belongings go up in smoke, literally. The firemen were hampered by the cold temperatures and icicles hung from their hats, hair, gloves and the rest of their gear.
Suddenly, our small problem was put in perspective as I watched this horrific scene. I finally arrived at my destination, which just happened to be across the street from the firehouse that had responded to the alarms. I had a front row seat to the devastation that occurred that Christmas Eve.
Sure enough, the shop owner had the correct part and, after paying for it, I headed back to our home. It was after midnight, technically Christmas morning, when our neighbor walked over and fixed our furnace. What a blessing he was to us. And it was certainly the most unusual Christmas we have experienced.
Hopefully, our project this week will have a similar positive outcome when it is finally completed. But it can’t help but strike a chord with me that it seems like a case of deja vu! As always, it is vitally important to make sure that we depend on God to bring us through all these detours in life.
Our verse for tonight is from the first Gospel. Matthew tells us how valuable we are to God. He lets us know in Matthew 6:26,28-30, “Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?… “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you…”
My encouragement this evening is that we are very important to God. And when we depend on Him, he will bring us through the trials, tribulations and annoyances of life. No problem is too big for Him. My prayer is that we will all remember, when difficulties strike, to approach God and petition Him with our requests, in accordance with His will for our lives. It is much better than trying to depend on ourselves to get us through! Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…