I got a new washer and dryer! Yes you read correctly…….I am blogging about my new washer and dryer. Actually they are used not new, but they are the best washer and dryer I have ever owned. Two years ago Eric and I were forced to buy a new washer after the one we’d received as a wedding present from my parents finally went to the washer grave yard. After many fixings and years of service it was time. Instead of humbly choosing the more practical washer we chose the Mercedes of washing machines with all the gadgets, bells, and whistles imaginable. Well you know how it is with a Mercedes, if it breaks you have to send it to the Mercedes dealer to get it fixed because they are made so that the average Joe can’t find he gas cap let alone fix one. The same was true for this washer.
Before the warranty was up it broke. We had to have a special authorized repair man come from Columbus to fix it. The trip charge alone was $200. And of course the part that broke was not covered by warranty, so it cost us half of what we paid for the washer just to fix it. God certainly wanted to teach us a lesson in humility because 8 months later it broke again - same part. I put out a plea to find a cheap washer just to get us through because we really could not afford to fix our Mercedes washer again! Out of the blue a friend emailed me and offered us an extremely gently used Maytag Washer and Dryer set for free. This beautiful set has no special settings and no special bells or whistles. It is a high capacity which is perfect for our family. There is in fact by worldly standards nothing special at all about this washer and dryer. Yet it is one of the most precious gifts I have ever received and let me tell you why. This washer and dryer was a gift from the family of Paul and Catherine Schorger because the family felt that “This is what Mom and Dad would have wanted. “ Back in 2007 I received my first gift from Paul and Catherine. It was a Valentines Dance at the parish still very early in the evening. Paul and Catherine were recognized for being the longest married couple there…Sixty-Five Years and still going strong. I am always amazed how God uses the ordinary everyday experiences in life to give me such beautiful glimpses of who He is and His never-ending love for me. I watch Paul and Catherine dance struck by the sense that it was obvious when he looked at her he did not see the harsh lines and ripples in her face brought about by age. When he held her hand he did not feel the roughness of skin that has stood the test of time, he did not see the wiry gray hair, nor did he notice the fading of her eye color. I am sure he did not notice the stiffness in her movement either…what he saw when he looked at her was his beautiful 24 year old bride Catherine, the one who completed him, the one whom he loved unconditionally, the one in whom he most easily found Christ.
One year later I saw them again, this time not under the twinkling lights on the dance floor at the parish Valentines dance, but at the Cemetery. Paul was sitting in a lawn chair talking with his bride. He didn’t seem to notice the cold marble headstone that separated them, nor did he pay much attention to the cold wind blowing across his face. The distance between this world and the next seemed not to faze him. He saw his beautiful 24 year old bride Catherine, the one who completed him, the one who he loved unconditionally, and the one who he most easily found Christ in on this earth. Paul has since left this world and I pray constantly that he and Catherine are standing now in the presence of the One whom they so beautifully reflected for eachother here on earth, the One who most completes them, the Onewho loves them unconditionally. That’s why this is no ordinary washer and dryer. I pray the washer and dryer last a long time.
Each time I wash a load I am reminded of the perfect reflection of Christ for each other that I saw in Paul and Catherine. I pray that I will be able to reflect Christ in my own marriage with the same beauty I saw in them. I will remember the One whom completes us, the One who loves us unconditionally, the One whose presence I long for us both to stand in at the end of our life.
God Bless,
Maggie
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