Why I'm Glad the Dishwasher Broke

Bear with me. I'm not crazy. Well, for the most part.

Approximately a month ago...the dishwasher died. 
Of course, I did what any normal, rational, middle age wife and mama would do..........I completely freaked out. I mean it.
 I. freaked. out.  I arrived at work, and in my panic, spewed my situation all over the boss' desk.  "I need your help! My dishwasher broke! We go through a lot - did you hear me? - a LOT of dishes....what am I going to do??"

I knew my options. Call my neighborhood appliance store and have a shiny new dishwasher delivered and installed, or (gulp)........wash the dishes..............by hand. 

Now, before you deem me a selfish middle-class brat who doesn't like to get her hands dirty, sprinkle a little grace and soapsuds my way, would you?

I still don't have a dishwasher.

But I do have a sinkload of new memories.
Because when it's dishes time.......it's daughter time. 

Teenage daughter time. And if you have one of these special humans of your own, you know just what a sacred space that is.

I wash. She dries.  We listen to Pandora Christmas Music. We talk. We laugh. Because when our hands are wet.....they aren't wired. Because when they are holding on to pots and pans....they are free from Facebook and Instagram.  Because the time it takes to wash and to dry those dishes........is time we have together............unplugged.
You see, the joy isn't in the clean dishes.........it's in the process of getting them clean.

Last week I was watching QVC (don't judge me). New Instant Set-Up Outdoor Lighted Wire Trees!  Christmas in an Instant!  Five seconds folks - you heard right - just FIVE seconds and Christmas is born!  No more fumbling around outside with the husband trying to get those lights just right.  No more untangling of the dreaded net lights only to find out half are burnt out (after you cover all the shrubs).  No more climbing the ladder in the frigid cold to line those little bulbs of brightness just so. 
Sounds perfect....right?  Hmmmm...I don't think so.
You see, the joy isn't in the well-lit house.........it's in the process of getting it lit. It's in the time spent together hanging those said lights...and then discovering they're burnt out, and then taking them back down, and then rehanging them, and then.......well, you catch my {snow}drift..

Perhaps that's why our God instructs us to......
                                         Pray all the time. -1 Thessalonians 5:17

Perhaps that's why our God reminds us to.......
                                         Thank God in everything no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks, for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus. - 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Perhaps that's why our God tells us plainly to.......
                                            Be joyful. - 1 Thessalonians 5:16

Perhaps it's because our God wants us to understand that
the power of prayer is in the process.  
That it's not about the answer,  it's about the attitude.
That it's not about how rapidly He responds to our requests, it's about how we are renewed and transformed during the time of waiting.
That it's not about the end result, it's about each and every important lesson we learn along the way. Strengthening our faith along the path of defective dishwashers and burnt out bulbs.

It's about the process.

The power is in the process.

{Note: A new dishwasher is on my Christmas list. C'mon, y'all kinda figured that, didn't ya?}

Soaked in Grace (with dishpan hands),