Stephanie is teaching the boy guitar, along with Isaac and Sam. Afterwards, the three boys head for the woods to work on their cabin while Corrie and MacKenzie entertain the girl with games and tea time. This affords me time to spend with the mom, a fairly new Christian.
I've been encouraging Cheryl to trust God for everything and to ask Him to supply all their needs, as they have been struggling to make ends meet on one income.
Yesterday Cheryl mentioned that she would love to begin making her own bread like a mutual friend of ours, but that they don't have the money to purchase a new mill and wondered if I might know where she could find a used one. I told her the "sad" story of my own Nutrimill:
I purchased the Nutrimill a few years ago (before we were aware of gluten intolerance in our home). This wonderful mill has a lifetime warranty! I had purchased the model when it was brand new, and it quickly became obvious that there was a flaw in the design somewhere, as the machine would easily overheat. After speaking with customer service, they had me send it back and when the new mill arrived, I noticed the lid was different, allowing the flour to flow more easily into the bowl.
A year or so later, the cord somehow became worn and needed replaced. One condition of the warranty is that "Any attempt to repair your mill will void the warranty". I should have mentioned this to Terry, but I never thought about it. One day after returning home from an errand, Terry proudly showed me how he had fixed the mill by replacing the cord. I hated telling him that the lifetime warranty was now void.
About two years ago the girls were using the mill and it just shut off. Quit. Kaput. I knew we would have to pay for any repairs and about this same time, we were learning about my gluten intolerance and so eventually the broken mill was stuck in the shed. Out of sight; out of mind. Till yesterday.
"Well, I'd sell you mine if it worked," I told my friend. She got excited and said she knew a man who might be able to fix it and if it were possible, would I sell her the mill? I sent one of the girls to the shed to retrieve the mill, which was in desperate need of cleaning (our shed is anything but sterile!).
While taking apart the machine to clean all the parts, I noticed an inconspicuous red button sticking out, which of course I pressed. "Wouldn't it be funny if that was a reset button and it fixed the mill?" I asked with a chuckle. Cheryl got very enthusiastic about the possibility. As I turned the mill over, a spider fell out. Being the female that I am, I squashed it.
After a thorough cleaning, we were all anxious to see what would happen once the machine was plugged in. I flipped the switch and...IT WORKED! No way!
I thought Cheryl might do cartwheels across my kitchen floor if there had been room. She was so happy. As we milled wheat berries to clean out the inner chamber, for just one second I thought of how I could mill rice and beans and...
No Cheryl; this is for your friend.
In all honesty, this machine would have sat in the shed and eventually been thrown out if my friend hadn't mentioned needing a mill. I don't really need the mill and if she is making fresh bread for her family, the mill will be a far greater blessing to them than to us. We included a 5 gallon pail of wheat berries and I found my barely-used Wildflour cookbook to get her started. Cheryl was beaming.
This morning Terry and I were talking about how good it feels to bless someone else. It seems we are constantly on the receiving end of God's blessings (too many to count!). Our needs are always met, often in miraculous ways (I plan to share some of these testimonies of God's goodness here someday). How awesome that the Lord allowed us the privilege of being a vessel for Him to bless another family.
It is more blessed to give than to receive. ~Jesus
Acts 20:35
How has the Lord allowed you to participate in blessing someone else?
That's a great lesson. I might have thought too, I should just keep it since I would have had I known it worked, but you were wise enough to see that God wanted to give it to her. Thanks for sharing ;) Posts like these are, in a way, discipleship. I disciple women one on one so I feel like I'm on the receiving end of discipleship when I see ways God may be working that I don't see otherwise.
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