A Broken Stove

The Bible says, "And my God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus. . . " (Philippians 4:19)  In context, this promise was being made to people who had been very generous in giving toward the needs of others. So is this a promise only to those people? Is it a promise to all who are "givers"? Or is it a general promise to ALL believers?

It is not my purpose to answer that question. I can only say that I have seen the Lord's hand in meeting many needs we and others have experienced. Let me tell the story of a broken stove just to illustrate God's gracious generosity to His children. 

Once upon a time, there was a wonderful stove on Craig's List in Wisconsin. It was a white Maytag stove with a double oven and a black glass top. It was a perfect stove for a large family. It had self cleaning ovens and the top was super-easy to wipe down. The price was right, too. Even though there were many ways the money could have  been spent, a stove is a necessary item. The purchase was made, and what a blessing! 

Not so long after the stove was hooked up in the kitchen, a spice bottle fell from the cabinet and cracked the glass top. This was very disappointing and left the family with only three working burners. Over time the crack in the stove top grew larger and larger. Finally the stove was no longer safe to use, since spattered oil or grease could run under the glass top and catch fire -- Thanksgiving was coming along and how were we to cook the turkey? The vegetables? It was time for Valerie to check Craig's List once more. 

Ha! A stove was listed. Someone else needed to be able to cook the Thanksgiving turkey but they had a broken element in the bottom oven -- same stove, but the stainless steel variety! They couldn't get it fixed in time to cook turkey, so they bought a new stove. The OLD one was available for $200.00. What a buy that was! Check: money was available. Check: that stove would fit in the back of our minivan. And, yes, the stove was still available. Time to go to Illinois for a replacement stove. 

A few hours later, our crew arrived at home with their purchase. Once home, Valerie discovered that a few pieces of the cracked glass had totally broken off, so there could be absolutely NO top of the stove cooking any more. God provided and He provided at the perfect time. The stove lasted until the very day it was replaced. 

Back to business. Things were moved around, and the floor under the stove was cleaned.  Amalie (13) removed the bottom heating element of the new stove and replaced it with the old one. The ovens, the broilers, and the burners ALL worked, and what a NICE stove! What a wonderful provision from our gracious and kind Lord. Not only did the stove WORK, but it was the very one that Valerie hoped to have. 

Just an aside: The door handle to our Maytag stove at home was broken -- a replacement would be $100.  Valerie gave us the handle to her old stove and it WORKS for our oven door. What a blessing for US! 

As I end this story, I hope you see the wonderful lesson that the LORD cares about every aspect of our lives and that He delights in providing for our comfort and joy. 

Thank you, Lord! And thank YOU for the new oven door handle to fit our stove here in Maine.