Home repairs

Yesterday morning I tossed the first load in the washer then ran in the bathroom for a quick shower, just the other side of the wall from the washer and dryer. As I turned on the shower, I heard this suspicious "bong." Post-shower, I checked the washer. Dead. Twirled the dials and pulled. No action. Sigh. Pulled out the soggy dirty laundry for Plan B--washing the load elsewhere. Groan. Just fourteen months ago we had this washer repaired.

Another sound, that of whirring and tinkling. It wasn't in any of the bathrooms. It wasn't a faucet outside. The location: the hot water heater. In our house (one of several of the same compact plan in this workingman's neighborhood), that meant the shorty tank in the corner of the kitchen, accessible only by pulling out the stove and removing the side of the cupboard. It wouldn't dare give up, would it? Fourteen years ago it had died. Replacement was a plumber's nightmare. (As was the entire weekend with Grandma's hiccuping garage door opener, putting Grandpa in a care home, Grandma's hip replacement surgery, son Zach getting braces, the invasion of black widow spiders, losing a set of keys....)

My son came for dinner that night. His wife was away at a conference and his dad was already gone to feed Grandma at the nursing home. "What's that noise, Mom?" he asked. "Something near the water heater," I admitted. "Maybe we'll check it this weekend."

He gulped down his spaghetti, pulled out the stove, unscrewed the side panel, and pointed the flashlight at a water heater sitting in its own rusty pool. We cut the power and pulled in a garden hose to drain it.

I had one consolation: at least this double-whammy didn't happen the last week of June, when my daughter's getting married....

It also made me think that I've got it right with my current book project. I've written about Heaven and how our eternal Home is perfect in every way. No more fragile clothes washers. No more rusty water heaters.

Have you ever thought of the type of home that would be perfect for you? Ever looked around your house, apartment or room and wished you could give it a makeover? Think about the colors you'd paint it? The flooring and furniture? How, when it all came together, it would be "you" and bring deep satisfaction?

I think the reason that the reality TV show, "Extreme Makeover--Home Edition," has enjoyed such wild success is that it tapped into this deep human desire of being fully and happily "home." And while the mansions they build in a week are off the top of the scale (and provide great advertising for those who supply materials), they are a reminder of the Bible's promise of something eternally better. Jesus promised it: "In my Father's house there are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you" (John 14:2).

A lot of people grew up hearing this verse, "In my Father's house are many mansions." That's not quite in line with the original Greek word, mone, which means "dwelling place." When you realize that it is God's dwelling place, that makes even "mansions" seem shabby. Whatever Heaven turns out to be, it will be wonderful, absolutely perfectly planned for us by Heaven's design team.

My book is a 31-day devotional tour of our Heavenly home. Each day's reading (about 750 words) is based on a room of a house and gathers together what the Bible says about Heaven. For example, ever think of Heaven's foyer?

I've self-published a little spiral-bound version of the book and more than fifty copies are out there already. [I'm contacting publishers, hoping one will catch my vision for this book.] I've had an incredible feedback--that finally there's an easily-read, comforting book about the hope of Heaven. One of the first books went to a friend in Seattle dying of cancer. He and his wife used it for their couple's devotions, then he read it alone as he had the strength. On April 19, with his last breath on earth, he entered his Heavenly home.

No more home repairs. No more body repairs.

Keep looking up, friends. This isn't all there is.