Disaster!
Have you ever felt as if everything is against you? Things don’t go well at home, school, work, etc. It seems like every step you make fails in some way. And of course, your stress level is through the roof.
The stress has seemed to build in the last week and a half at my work. It has caused stress for all involved. I run a digital machine at a print shop. One day a little over a week ago I made, what I thought was a routine call for a repair. It wasn’t a big problem I was having with the print quality but it needed fixing. The repairman came out the next day “fixed” the problem and we were good to go. At least we thought it was fixed.
The next day…
The next day the problem started again. The shop foreman had told me to go ahead and put in a call near the end of the day forgetting the fact that the next day was the end of the month. We are always pushing as much out as possible the last day. When digital is down it brings a real problem in getting through the work.
This time when the guy came for repairs he brought a helper and they got into the machine and replaced a lot of parts along with cleaning the machine. In the process of taking out one of the rollers, which has a small long bulb that runs through it for heat, he broke the bulb. No big deal right? Wrong!! They did not have another one to replace it. So they had to order the part from back east. It should be in the next day around 10 am and then they would have to come in and finish the work. This was around 12 am so for me that meant time off. So I went home early and didn’t come back in until around 11 am the next day. Things got back together and I was finally able to print again.
Or was it?
I did start printing and the guy stuck around for a little while to see if things were going to go well. It seemed good so off he went. I started to notice that there was some kind of debris coming out with the paper when I was printing. It was a concern to me. Then I notice another problem. There were some marks being made on the paper as well. I opened up the machine to see if there was anything that I could see and all this debris was coming out of the machine. By this time it was near the end of the day again. So again I put in another call to service.
The next day the repair guy came right away in the morning. He opened up the machine and started to take some things apart. As he took things apart debris just fell out. He was amazed that the machine had not thrown an error code. Something had happened and it had totally shredded a belt.
He got everything cleaned up and got things running. He stuck around for a while and noticed that there was another problem. The machine was not heating up right. And it was leaving a rub mark on the prints as well. He figured out what the problem was but he had no parts for it. It was Friday by now and he would order the parts and then be back on Monday around 10:30 am. In the meantime, I could only run a certain weight paper because the heat wasn’t working for the more heavy paper.
Monday…
On Monday I waited and went into work around 10 am. There had been some other lightweight jobs that had come in so I started printing them. My boss came to let me know the repair guy called and the parts he had ordered were not going to arrive from back east that day as they were supposed to. He was driving to another location, which was a 4-hour round trip drive to pick up the part. So he arrived at about 12 pm.
The unusual thing is that the heating problem had gone away and we couldn’t see the rub mark anymore. So he was afraid to even touch the machine since it seemed to be working now. We didn’t know why but it was. He stuck around for a few jobs and everything seemed to be fine. So he finally left. He wasn’t gone long when I notice the rub mark again. It was only in a certain area so I could only run certain things that it did not show up on, how frustrating.
By this time we decided to wait until the end of the day to call it in so I could get as much printing done as possible being we had so much downtime. I tried to put in a request on the computer after 5 pm so that a repair guy would contact us in the morning. The repair guy had not closed out the last repair so it would not let me put in a new one. I had his phone number so I texted him. He said how sorry he was about the digital print not being fix and that he would come first thing in the morning.
Tuesday…
When he got there it did not take him long to see that there was a roller that needed replacing. It had just been replaced last week but with all the debris from the belt that shredded it probably did damage to it. He was concerned because that was the roller that the other repair guy had been trying to fix when he broke the bulb that ran through the center. The new repair guy planned to be very careful. The way that it is put together is not the best. He proceeded to remove the roller but yes he broke the bulb. Afterward, he let me know that it was not a big deal because the other repair guy had ordered two when he ordered. He said, “I will just go pick it up from him and be back in about 20 minutes.”
When he arrived back I was working in the back in the bindery. We were all discussing what would happen if he broke the second and last one. Within seconds the guy came back and told me when he opened the box the bulb was broken in 3 pieces. The choices were to order another one, which would arrive the next day around 10 am. Or he could take a 4 hour round trip to the different location, where he had gone the day before and get the part there. Of course, we asked him to drive and get it. We needed our machine up and running.
Home…
The repair guy headed off for his 4-hour trip while I went home for a few hours. The frustration I felt was unspeakable. Financially we could not afford for me to lose hours and I had lost so many already. I knew that I needed to quit thinking about it and just make the best of my time doing things that needed to be done at home. It actually felt good to be home and I do miss it a great deal.
Soon the time came for me to head back to work. The repair guy was there and things went quickly. When I started printing the repair guy stuck around for another 30 minutes just to be sure that things were going to run well. Then he left.
More problems…
He hadn’t been gone 30 minutes when I noticed another problem. My foreman said let’s try to get through as much printing as we can before we call in again. So I waited another few hours until the end of the day.
He came the next morning and fixed the problem. And we were off and running again for a few hours. It is Friday now and we are now waiting until Monday for another part. Another repair guy did a temp fix that we know could quick working at any time. Every time I pushed the print button I prayed it would work and I made it through the day on the temporary fix. The question is when is this going to be over? I don’t know! It has been frustrating. I have lost money, my boss has lost money and it has affected 3 other guys also in lack of hours. And it has affected our customers and gives the potential for losing customers.
Learning…
But with all these problems what can I learn. Because we all go through trials every day, right? We can always learn things in all our everyday experiences. God wants to teach us things. The number one thing He wants to teach us is to trust Him. He is beside us to guide us through all circumstances. We just need to reach out to Him. I am planning on a miracle. Because even though I made less money I want to see how He is going to bless that money to fulfilled the needs that it provides.
Another lesson that came to me in this experience is that the digital machine is a lot like us. The machine is fairly new, maybe a year and a half old. And it reminds me of when a person decides to give their heart to the Lord. You may or may not have grown up in a Christian home. But you have to come to a point in your life where you surrender and give your heart to God. And you become a new creation, just like a brand new digital machine.
But then…
Everything seems to be going well with our brand new walk with God. We are having victories and we are on fire for God. But as time goes by we tend to get distracted. The devil makes sure it happens. Things in our life start to breakdown. It starts out small, just a “little print” quality. Maybe we fail to spend the quality time we need one day. We realize we need to get back connected so we seek out the Repair Man. God is always there to help repair our lives and the great thing; we don’t have to wait because He is too busy. We make things right with God and go on our way.
But the next day something comes up unexpectedly and your time with God is cut short again. Believe me, the devil will make sure there are distractions if we are not intentional. We get a little stitch of time with God but not what it should be. And sometimes it goes into days, weeks, and even months that our quality time is diminished.
Major repair…
Before we know it we have become so spiritually wore out that we need major repairs. The great thing about God is that when we let Him He repairs everything the first time. But a lot of times what happens is that we don’t allow Him to get in and do the repairs before we allow life to take over again and get in the way of spending that quality time. And every time we do that the need for repairs become more major. The outcome can be different for everyone depending on how long we keep letting things go and not allowing God to fully repair us.
God is the only one that can do the major repairs that we need. But we have to make a total and complete surrender to Him and allow Him to do it. And we have to commit to spending the quality time with Him. Believe me, I am speaking to myself as I write this. It is so easy to get distracted. And God also gives us so many opportunities to connect with Him throughout the day.
Time…
We need to have that special time each morning where we spend time in prayer and study of God’s Word. And if we don’t initially schedule it in it won’t happen. Besides our scheduled time, we should take advantage of every opportunity to connect with God.
For those of us who drive to work, we can be praying during those times. Praying out loud can keep us focused. This is a great time to pray about those things that are really on your heart for yourself, family, friends, etc. It is a great way to keep yourself on track with keeping connected with God and keep your sanity while driving with “crazy” people on the road. You can also be listening to God’s Word while you are traveling. Some may be able to listen to God’s Word while they are working depending on where you work and what you are doing. I actually have that opportunity at work and I love it.
Dear Father,
We live in such a crazy busy world. Forgive us for not making you the priority that we should. I want to surrender my time to You and make sure that my time is used wisely. I pray for the problems with my machine at work and for those that may be having troubles at their work. Help us to reach out to You more and be a witness to Your power. Thank You for the lessons that You teach us through the trials. And I am praising Your name to see how You are going to stretch my paycheck this pay period.
In Jesus Name,
Amen
Surrender all to God today. Be intentional about your time with Him.
Love you all!
What trial has come into your life that you have learned some lessons from? I would love to hear it. Please share below.