Sometimes you just have to stop the dryer
The dryer had been going for nearly an hour and all I wanted was some sleep. I was tired. Worn out. Then came the nagging, annoying little squeak. It started small, then developed into a large, rhythmic, obnoxious scrape of metal on metal. It had been a long day and i was ready for bed, so i did what any normal human being would do. I ignored it. It didn't work.
So I yelled at my dryer. maybe cussed at it, turned over, and tried to sleep again. The noise didn't listen.
I was angry.
I got up, stormed across the room, planted a firm kick at the dryer's base, and the noise instantly subsided. A wave of relief swept over me. I can sleep! I slid back under the cool covers, and laid my head onto the pillow. Instantly the noise returned.
I was furious.
Was the universe playing a cosmic joke on me? I was not amused.
"God, can you make this freakin dryer stop? I just want to freakin get some sleep!"
Then it hit me. Here I am enduring this obnoxious scrape for almost an hour, when all I had to do was simply turn of the dryer. It was within my power, yet I was so focused on letting it dry my clothes that I had completely forgotten I had the ability to make the noise stop.
I do this in life a lot. Maybe I'm going through a frustrating season. I get so focused on finishing, forgetting I have the power to stop the frustration. Or maybe it's been a year long ordeal that I just want to be over. I become so focused on a perfect outcome, I want the frustrating noise to stop, get some sleep AND have my clothes dried all at the same time.
But we don't live in a perfect world. I still trust God, I get sound advice, I weigh my options, and I wait patiently. That's when I realize I can make it stop. It may not be the ideal outcome, it might make me uncomfortable, but it's within my power to do so. Stopping the dryer doesn't mean your clothes will never get dry. It just means it will wait until morning, for another opportunity.
And perhaps that would be a better time to dry clothes anyway.
