What Can We Learn from Dishwasher Installation?

I posted a narrative yesterday about a frustrating sequence of events. I was too close to the situation to think clearly about what lessons God was teaching through those circumstances. With the passing of the last 24 hours, my focus is a little better. 

For anyone following my dishwasher saga-You can’t make this stuff up. I had an appliance person out to see why my dishwasher wasn’t working properly. He pulled the dishwasher out and examined it (keep this in mind because it will come up later) and determined that the repairs would be so costly that a new dishwasher might be my best option. I ordered the dishwasher from SAMS December 20, 2024. Installation was included in the price. The SAMS site said that the dishwasher would be delivered January 6, 2025. I made plans for that day. It came and went. No one contacted me to schedule a time. Later I received an email from RXO with instructions to schedule the date. The first available date was January 29, 2025. I scheduled it for that date. On January 28, 2025 I received a text confirmation from RXO that they would be there between 7 and 12 that morning.  I removed everything from the cabinet under the sink, moved the couch and end tables out of the way, and moved the breakfast room table over so that they would have easy access. That same day I fell while walking the dog and hurt my wrist and both knees. Later that evening I received a text that I needed to schedule for another date. The earliest available date was February 17, 2025. Because of my injuries from the fall, I decided to leave the under-sink contents on the countertop of the island, and the furniture in its disrupted position. Today they brought the new dishwasher, brought it in the house, took it out of the box, unhooked the old dishwasher then told me they couldn’t install the dishwasher because there was a bolt keeping them from pulling the old one out. Remember that the appliance repairman removed it easily. I spoke with their dispatcher, or supervisor, or whatever his position. He told me that he didn’t know when they would be able to send out a more skilled installer and that they would need to bring the dishwasher back to their warehouse so that an installation could be scheduled. Amazingly, I was calm but honest. I told him the whole story I just explained to you and asked if he understood why I was frustrated. With still no resolution to the problem, they left with my dishwasher (that I paid for two months ago). I called SAMS customer service and spoke with Amber, who I easily recognized as being a native southern English speaker. She said that she would email some supervisors at RXO to see if they could get things arranged.  She was understanding and helpful, which is much more than I can say about anyone from RXO. In the greater scope of things, I realize that this is inconsequential. I still have food to eat, a sink to wash the dishes, a warm and comfortable home. However, you probably won't see a blog about this because at this moment I'm not sure that I can see the spiritual lesson in it.  I'll keep praying to see what God reveals, but for now…

It’s not even about the dishwasher, or poor work ethic, or honoring business promises, or adequate training. In the comments some friends made some good suggestions about what the lessons were. 

• God is the only One we can trust
• Self-control
• Patience

I agree with all those suggestions. Others I think about are controlling the tongue, selfishness, frustration…

According to Bible Gateway, there are 10 references in the Holman Christian Standard Bible for “frustrate” and none of them have a positive connotation.. So let’s just say that frustration isn’t a good feeling for me to have about the dishwasher installation. In my defense I wasn’t angry, just frustrated. This morning I told my close friend that now that I step back a minute, it’s more comical than frustrating. 

Proverbs 18:21 HCSB Life and death are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

James 3:3 Now when we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide the whole animal. 4 And consider ships: Though very large and driven by fierce winds, they are guided by a very small rudder wherever the will of the pilot directs. 5 So too, though the tongue is a small part of the body, it boasts great things. Consider how large a forest a small fire ignites. 6 And the tongue is a fire. The tongue, a world of unrighteousness, is placed among the parts of our bodies. It pollutes the whole body, sets the course of life on fire, and is set on fire by hell. 7 Every sea creature, reptile, bird, or animal is tamed and has been tamed by man, 8 but no man can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. 9 We praise our Lord and Father with it, and we curse men who are made in God’s likeness with it. 10 Praising and cursing come out of the same mouth. My brothers, these things should not be this way. 

The tongue, meaning the words we say, can convey life or death. What does scripture say about our tongues as an instrument of death, things we are to avoid saying? How does God want us to use our words? (When our children were small and they were frustrated, I would say, “Use your words.” Now, as adults they often turn the tables on me when I am having trouble putting my thoughts into words. They tell me, “Use your words.” This is the random thought that just popped into my head when I wrote about how God wants us to use our words. Please ignore that rabbit-chasing thought.) When we speak, how does God want us to honor Him with our speech?

Psalm 34:13 Keep your tongue from evil

and your lips from deceitful speech.

14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;

seek peace and pursue it.

He wants us to avoid deceitfulness. Instead we should seek to promote peace with our words. With the frustration I was experiencing yesterday, it would have been so easy for me to say things that did not pursue peace. I didn’t say anything deceitful. I don’t know if wanting an issue resolved is seeking peace. 

Psalm 35:28 And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness, Your praise all day long.

This chapter is David’s prayer that he would be vindicated, rescued from those who wished him harm. David is confident that God will answer his prayer and closes with this statement that he will proclaim God’s righteousness and praise God all day long. I’m always a little confused by how fervently David prays for God’s vengeance on his enemies. Are our hearts so in tune with God that our prayers for vengeance, or even resolution of poor customer service, are in line with His perfect plan? We find the answer to this question in these verses.

Psalm 66:17 I cried out to Him with my mouth,

and praise was on my tongue.

18 If I had been aware of malice in my heart,

the Lord would not have listened.

19 However, God has listened;

He has paid attention to the sound of my prayer.

20 May God be praised!

He has not turned away my prayer

or turned His faithful love from me.

To pray with confidence, to praise sincerely, we must not harbor any malice in our hearts. If we do, God doesn’t listen. David prayed with confidence because he was repentant and trusted God.

James 1:19 My dearly loved brothers, understand this: Everyone must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for man’s anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness…26 If anyone thinks he is religious without controlling his tongue, then his religion is useless and he deceives himself. 

We need to listen. Obviously, that means we stop talking so we can hear other people. But listening is more than that. Have you ever said something like this, “I heard you talking, but I wasn’t listening”? Slow to speak. Process your thoughts. Pray about what you need to say. Carefully consider what word to use. Don’t speak in anger. Why is this important? Because if we can’t do that, we deceive ourselves regarding our relationship with Jesus. Our tongues, lips, voices, our words, should bring glory to God, praise Him, be obedient to Him, draw others to Him.

We should be patient. Patience is part of the fruit of the Spirit. Even secular writers say that patience is a virtue. Am I being impatient because it’s been 2 months since I paid for the dishwasher and installation?

Proverbs  14:29 A patient person shows great understanding, but a quick-tempered one promotes foolishness.

1 Thessalonians 5:14 And we exhort you, brothers: warn those who are irresponsible, comfort the discouraged, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

I’m just going to skip over that “irresponsible” word, and talk about being patient with everyone. It probably wasn’t the men’s fault that they were dispatched to do a job they didn’t have the skill to complete. They probably didn’t have anything to do with the previous delays. I needed to be patient with them.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord does not delay His promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.

God is patient, because He wants everyone to repent and come to Him. I cling to this promise daily, praying He will delay His coming and that my family members will believe Him and accept His gift of salvation and forgiveness. He is patient. We need to be patient too.

I know that a dishwasher isn’t a necessity. It’s a luxury that many people don’t have. Am I too lazy to wash a few dishes by hand? Honestly, I only have one or two plates, a coffee cup, and a few pieces of flatware to wash each day. I don’t need a dishwasher. It’s simply not important. I don’t think I’m lazy. But this makes me think about what scripture says about work. Not work to earn our salvation, but our daily chores, our employment, fulfilling our purpose. It’s interesting the scriptures that refer to both words and work.

Proverbs 12:14 A man will be satisfied with good by the words of his mouth, and the work of a man’s hands will reward him.

Proverbs 14:23 There is profit in all hard work, but endless talk leads only to poverty.

We are to work. Washing dishes is work. I’m fine without a dishwasher. But…think about this. God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants that He would bless all nations through them. He honored this covenant by sending Jesus, God incarnate to die as our sacrifice for sin. The people knew what God meant when He said He was establishing His covenant with them. It was an agreement to do what He said He would do. We should do the same in our daily lives. If we say we will do something, we should do it. We should be honest with others. I’m not unreasonable in expecting a business owner to fulfill his end of a covenant, a business agreement. But the question I must ask myself is if I am honest in all my interactions with others, do I do what I say I will do? I hope that I do. Honestly, my thoughts are so random sometimes that I probably forget what I said I would do. So, if I have told you I would do something, it might be a good idea for you to remind me. So, maybe I wasn't too far off track reminding the company of the agreement they have with me to install the dishwasher.