Gunk

When I purchased my condo back in March, my garbage disposal was making this terrible grinding noise.  The inspector had said it was probably a bent blade.  I hadn't had a garbage disposal in eight years, so what did I know?  After a few weeks, the grinding turned into humming which turned into no sound at all.  Thanks to my sister having a similar issue, I knew there was a reset button at the bottom of the disposal. I pressed it and.....it turned the humming back on and then tripped it off again.  So, I researched some informative how-to videos on YouTube because I was determined to save myself some money and fix it myself.  Don't all new homeowners think this way?

After trying the reset button, according to the several videos I watched, I was to cut the power off either by unplugging the disposal or switching the breaker to 'off.'  After cutting the power, I placed a 1/4" allen wrench in the hexagonal hole at the bottom of the disposal.  According to the videos, you should be able to turn your wrench left to right, clockwise and counterclockwise.  This loosens up any gunk or debris that is causing the jam in the part of the unit that is called the flywheel.  (The humming noise is an indicator that there is a jam, so in every video each teacher said this is an easy diy fix.)  Well, I couldn't even budge the flywheel.  I'm talking no movement, period.  I used all my might, in fact, and almost ripped the disposal off the sink completely.  Whatever was causing the jam, was jammed so well that I couldn't see how I could've fixed this on my own, after all.  But little did that disposal know, I am not a girl who gives up easily.

I did some more research and read helpful tips on websites that talked about using a broom handle in the sink to help loosen the flywheel from up top.  Well, I didn't have a broom handle, so I used my rolling pin.  (I found out later that a wooden spoon is a good option, too).  Picture a determined woman with a rolling pin down the hole in her sink pushing with all her might to make the flywheel budge and....nothing.  I was afraid I was going to break something.  I was close to waving my white kitchen towel in surrender, when I came across another blog.  Some guy had similar issues.  He, too, tried everything.  He even tried some WD-40. (Aha!  I have some of that! I thought.)  He was successful after the broom handle trick.  I was determined WD-40 was my answer.

I sprayed some WD-40 down the hole around both blades and the center.  I got down on my knees for what I knew would be my final attempt before I conceded and called a plumber.  While down on my knees , I prayed a simple request for God's help.  I also prayed that I wouldn't break anything.  Sounds silly, right?  But as I was on my knees, I thought God cares about every hair on my head, why wouldn't He care about being involved with this?  After that prayer, I had confidence and strength, and I thought okay, God, this is in Your hands.

I turned the allen wrench to the left and...it budged!!  I turned it to the right...it budged that way too!  I couldn't believe it!  I got so excited I started to laugh and got up to see if it really was moving, so I tried the rolling pin down the hole again.  Sure enough, it moved!  I stuck my hand down (I know all the videos said not to ever do this but the power was completely off), and I was able to turn the flywheel!  I danced around the kitchen with excitement.  Whatever gunk and debris that caused my disposal to jam was now cleared out!  I turned the allen wrench several times clockwise and several times counterclockwise just to be sure I loosened everything up.  Then, I turned the power back on, and voila!  My disposal sounded as good as new!  The blades weren't bent at all!  My guess is that there was a lot of broken glass from the previous owner that caused it to jam up.

Aren't are lives a lot like this?  We jam up our hearts and minds with a lot of gunk and debris.  Pretty soon that gunk causes us to stop functioning properly.  What's worse is that it causes our spiritual flywheel to stop spinning.  We need to let go of the gunk.  We need the freedom of Christ to help us to function properly again.  We need to let Him come in with His power and might, to reset our spiritual buttons, and to bring us back to full power to do what He designed us to do.  Let us live our lives clear of the gunk.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us."

Hebrews 12:1