Regaining Our Balance

A few years back, while doing laundry in one of our building’s communal laundry rooms, I was unprepared for one of our washers getting stuck in the spin cycle. There are only six washers and six dryers in a 90-unit Senior setting with three floors—two per floor. Our first floor is the only one with a front and top loader. I will not get into the prices for a wash and dry, but I will emphasize that one needs to purchase at least thirty dollars in quarters per month, which can put a crimp in one’s six-figure social security check.

 So, imagine my surprise when I came down the hall to exchange my clothes from the washers to the dryers and found the front loader doing a trembly little jig and making a kerthunking sound as if losing its mind. The top loader was done and sat innocently on the other side of the tub, where silver-colored hoses eliminate the dirty water. It seemed to say,” I am the safe washer, and I don’t know what’s up with the other guy!

I stepped before the top loader and peered at the timer window. It still had six minutes left. How could that be? I started them together! Six minutes later, the black setting window announced an unbalanced load inside. There was no word of how long the imbalance was going to continue. Still, the kerthunking was due to a blanket that had eaten the other clothes, wrapped them into a bundle, and slung them from side to side, making it impossible to continue the cycle.

I tried everything. I unplugged the machine, hoping to trick it into another cycle and perhaps make it balance. I think I heard the machine chuckling softly, and then I ran into it with all my might, hoping to throw it off balance. The machine laughed out loud, and while my hip protested loudly, I thought I heard the machine say, “Lady, I am a washer, and I weigh hundreds of pounds, and your weight is of no consequence to me.”

I remember thinking, “I should pray,” then dismissing the thought immediately. Pray About a stuck washer cycle? But I ended up saying the tiniest, most (in my mind) insignificant prayer because God is in the restoration business, and He loves to restore us to order and carry our heavy loads.