Screeching Sounds

There was a lot of unusual noise in our house recently. And I don’t mean just the raucous sounds produced by the three teenagers that inhabit our domain! These particular screeching sounds were the result of maintenance issues I had failed to give attention to.

The first was our front door. Whenever we opened it, it would squeak very loudly. From a distance it sounded as if something was seriously wrong. But thankfully it was no big deal. A drop of oil in the hinges, and all was well with the mechanism.

The other irritating sound was produced by our tumble dryer. The noise was deafening. Not being experienced in these things, I consulted the wonderful store of information available to us online. A kind mechanic on Youtube explained this was most likely due to the bearings. It ended up being a small job, but it did require a bit more than simply adding oil to the externals. The machine had to be opened up to get at the inside, so the broken part could be replaced.

It spoke to me how two rather similar sounds, indicating mechanical issues, had such different solutions. One was external and took mere seconds to fix, the other was more internal and took just that bit more time and effort.

The human soul is the most complex of designs. Is something in there broken? Are there signs of wear and tear? It might be that, when we dare to look at the problem, things are not as bad as we feared. In fact, many of our problems could be easily fixed with the help of the Holy Spirit.

There may be yet deeper things going on. Perhaps we need to have a look inside and pay attention to something that has been ignored for too long, like the bearings in the dryer. With a bit of help and advice from others, we can then allow God to bring restoration to those deeper things.

Then, to my great annoyance, another problem arose that week. This time it was the boiler, which is a large, somewhat terrifying contraption, living in the centre’s basement. Considering the complexity of the machine, and the risks involved if things go wrong, I wouldn’t even dream of attempting a repair myself. This obviously called for professional help. The boiler mechanic arrived and soon dealt with the problem. It is OK to reach our limit and need expert help. There will be things in our lives that, even with good counsel and advice, we cannot do ourselves. There is no shame in asking for other people’s help. Expert helpers are part of God’s provision for our healing.

For me, the key is not to presume. Whenever we encounter a problem, we can take it to the Lord. It might be easily resolved, it might need a bit more attention, or it may genuinely be a very big thing. Either way, we need not panic. For “with God all things are possible.”