Unexpected or Unwanted Blessings

When I think of a blessing, I generally think of something I would like or something I need or want. Perhaps it’s a financial or health need, something that would benefit a friend, or an unexpected help that takes care of a problem. Or it could be the beautiful pink blooms of the tulip tree that just sings spring to me in the most beautiful way. The fox that comes to eat seed and eggs outside my window and is a joy to see, or perhaps the feel of clean sheets. Those are all blessings.
But, an incident occurred about a week ago which made me wonder if it was a blessing, but in disguise. Disguise, now my mind just jumped into super hero land with capes and masks. Identity kept secret for the protection of the individual. Why would a blessing be in disguise though? Obviously it wonAt have a cape and mask, but perhaps it is not in disguise. Perhaps, it is just not wanted. Or at least, initially perceived that way.


So, this is how it all happened…. Easter Sunday, home from church, plans to have a day of rest. Those are lovely things which happen all too infrequently in my life. Coming in, settling down to get ready for a wonderful Easter lunch of homemade pizza (let’s start a new tradition – yummy!), my mom opens the washer door. Instead of removing a damp quilt from the washer to be placed into the dryer, water poured out. I mean poured out! She stood there in shock, with an equally shocked sound coming out of her mouth. “Shut the door!” The door slammed shut. By then, water was quickly spreading across the floor in all directions. A basket of dirty towels to be washed were dumped in the middle of the puddle and the clean up started. I say started, because the water went under the washer and dryer.
YUCK!!!! This was not the Easter afternoon we had planned! Where was pizza and maybe a walk, perhaps some time outside and then a movie? This was messy and yucky and wet. But, it had to be cleaned up. So, we started cleaning and drying and cleaning and drying, mopping up everything that could be easily reached. Then, it was time to tackle the small lakes that had gathered under the washer and dryer. After some rather comical moments of my mom climbing over the washer and dryer to get behind them, I warned her that this was coming, wet lint started being tossed up from behind the dryer onto the top of the machine. Double yuck! Lint is bad enough, but wet lint! A blessing in disguise? How about a blessing disguised in dryer lint?

Let’s peel away that mask and take a look at what was there. The dryer lint that was collecting was a fire hazard. So, the great dryer and washer flood resolved that issue, the lint was removed.
Mom climbed back over the dryer and washe.  I think she was planning to douse me in dryer lint if I went and got my camera. We were laughing pretty hard by now. Was it something unwanted? Yes, I mean who really wants a great flood under the washer and dryer? But, was it perhaps an unexpected blessing, as a fire hazard was found and removed? Absolutely!
I still don’t know why the washer stopped when it did, to create the pouring out onto the floor, but I think it may have just been an unwanted blessing. Thank heaven for those!