God is Stirring

It is said that God moves in mysterious ways well there have been a lot of “mysterious” things happening in my house of late. So I take that as a sign God is stirring.

I was going to write, nothing as mysterious as things that go BUMP in the night – but then I remembered the ceiling falling down at 1 a.m. and I guess that is where it really all began…

(you can catch up on that part of the story here.)

When the hot water tank was replaced there came a point where the valve connecting the Aga to the water supply needed to be turned off. I had no idea where to find it and it is only because the cupboards were being pulled out at the time that it was uncovered at all, at just the perfect moment. It was hidden from sight right at the back behind the fitted cupboard with NO access whatsoever.

I’ve been pondering ever since how we can leave a gap to get to the valve and apart from having a false back to new cupboard, which would still be awkward I’d drawn a blank. I knew there must be a solution but it wasn’t something I was going to figure out alone. I’m just not qualified.

Then last week when we had the walls plastered the Aga had to be turned off AGAIN so the plaster didn’t crack as it dried.

Not a problem, so I thought, I could use the new immersion heater for my hot water needs and I could switch the Aga back on in a couple of days and everything would be up and running by the weekend.

If you read my ups and down post the other day you’ll realise that things didn’t go quite as I had planned.

Firstly I discovered the immersion heater wasn’t working when I jumped into a freezing shower!

Then when I tried to re-light the Aga I failed miserably.

I stropped about and stamped my feet, this was all too much to bear.

The only viable option open to me was to call in an engineer to service the Aga and to ask the plumber to come back and fix whatever the problem was with the water heater.

He couldn’t believe there was something wrong with it and do you know what when he came round today it all was working fine!

Now I tried it more than once over the weekend to no avail.

I feel so stupid – except - once more the timing has been perfect.

You see the Aga engineer had already arrived and I’d asked him that all important question.

“Can we move that valve to make it more accessible?”

“Not a problem. It just has to be done by a plumber.”

So when the plumber turned up half an hour later I asked him if he could move it. He checked the size of the pipe and he’s going to give me a ring and get the job done before all the new cupboards are fitted. 

Knowing very little about plumbing or maintenance I have successfully managed to find the right people to solve my problem but I can’t take all the credit.

I think someone else has had a hand in this "mysterious" timing – you can call it co-incidence if you wish but I believe God’s hand is in all of this. 

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.” Isaiah 55 v 8

I’ve spent so long waiting for this new kitchen, so long dreaming up colour schemes and longing for the day it looks magnificent and sparkly but hidden behind the scenes are all the little details that will make things run smoothly. As I have discovered throughout this whole experience you can’t rush those.

And if God can order events in my kitchen to happen at the right time he might very well be working behind the scenes in those other areas of my life I’d like sorting out too.