Failure to Ignite
It had been a long and busy work week. She was so glad to be home. Greeting her as she came through the door were the cats and dog. Quickly putting away the groceries she had brought home, she soon relaxed and put her feet up.
The baby of the family quickly claimed her and cuddled into her--finally settling on her shoulder. Soon the "old man" possessed her for a cuddle as well--claiming her chest. Before her had settled, a third cat also claimed her lap. With her feet reclined they settled in for a cuddle session.
The worries of the day were lulled away with the soothing warmth of kitten bodies gently purring their contentment at having her home. The room was a bit chilly, but she hadn't turned the heat up after coming home. Before she could decide whether to disturb everyone, a fourth baby decided to join the cuddle time--the Siberian Husky crawled onto her reclined legs and blanketed her lap.
Not really wanting to share mom with the dog, the cats hissed their displeasure, but accepted her presence rather than move. Their natural distrust of the dog--especially her size and tendency to treat them like toys to chase--was over ruled by their desire to be loved by their mother. Peace reigned--for now.
Time passed. The house was cooling off. She finally had to disturb the animals and go turn up the heat. Displacing them was likely to ignite their natural rivalry again. Gently dislodging the dog and then cats, she saw the room had cooled to 63 degrees. Odd, since she thought the thermostat was set to the high 60s.
Resetting the thermostat to 70 she returned to her chair and was quickly reclaimed by the cats. Not wanting to be left out, the dog started to climb onto her lap again, but was greeting by exploding air from the complaining cats. Trying to keep the peace, she gently turned the dog away.
The fan of the furnace should have kicked on by now, but it hadn't. Disturbing the cats again, she went to check the thermostat--nothing. She turned the heat up to 72. The room temp was down to 62--it should kick on quickly. Nothing. She turned the fan from automatic to on and it began blowing--cold air. Turning the entire system off, she listened. Silence. Turning it back on, she reset it to 74. Nothing.
Her husband would be home soon, so she resettled with the cats--and the lap blanket of a dog. Greeting her as he came in, he chuckled at her animal blanket. "I think they missed you. I see they chose to cuddle rather than fuse over your lap."
"It looks like it. But I'm enjoying their warmth at the moment."
"The house is cool. Why didn't you turn up the heat?"
"I did, but it won't come on."
Together they checked the system, made sure there was gas for the system, and tried several diagnostics before finally determining that for some reason it simply would not ignite the gas. Calling the repairman, they waited--and the animals again became her source of heat--choosing to cohabit rather than fuss over who got mom's attention . . . and lap.
An hour and a half later, they had heat again. The igniter switch had burnt out. Everything else was in working order--it just couldn't ignite.
Some times in our lives all the elements are in place, but things simply don't go as we plan. They fail to ignite. Some times in life all the reasons for strive are in place and we choose whether or not to ignite. There is a time and place to ignite--like the heater unit of a furnace. There is a time and place to choose not to ignite--coexisting in peace rather than exploding.
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said "We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." It is hard work to live together in peace. There are times when we must choose not to ignite. There are times when we must work not to be the spark. Yet love, grace and mutual understanding should always ignite peace and justice in our hearts.
God of love, grace, and justice teach us the difference between being the spark of good and change rather than to ignite a conflagration of distrust, hatred, and ignorance. Teach us, God, to be instruments of peace. So be it. Amen.
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