Hermit Headache

This is the third day of a most horrific spinal headache.  Would love to blame the Cabinet Combat as the reason for the headache, but the low back has been burning with pain.  There is a direct correlation, of course, as pain and nerve endings go together, and nerves are rife in our spines, from the lowest of sacrum to the highest in neck.   And what is on top of the neck?  The skull encasing the brain, thus head and head-ache.

The great idea for writing reflections of each chapter of Hebrews, each day, already has missed three days.  This is the reality of living in the Order of the Present Moment.  We may have desires and lovely intentions, but the present moment in which abides His Real Presence, may have other plans in His will.

But today I will try to write some reflections for Chapter 2.  It does not matter if profound or deep.  God is pleased with whatever our loving efforts.

And today there will be a call from John at Lowe's. He is a youngish man who was sent here yesterday to have a look at these lemon cabinets, fraught with flaws and problems having not been remedied in over 13 months.  The hermit tried to impart the problems and the need for the cabinet company or the cabinet department employee, or anyone to take some action.  

However, looking back (isn't that a marvelous capacity we are given by God--to be able to look back and see errors as well as wisdom and always His will at work in our lives?) I see that if they'd have corrected five of the errors 13 months ago, there were yet to be several more problems to come.  In fact, when pointing out a grossly warped cabinet door, John opened it and said, "Oh, there is a big crack here, as well!"  I had not opened that door in weeks and weeks.  Who knows when it began its journey down the inside of that door?

How many more cracks are awaiting eruption and movement?  How many more cabinet doors are planning to warp?

So the young man's grand idea that he will somehow be able to fix the numerous issues and flaws, even though the cabinet company no longer makes this line of cabinets, seems flawed in itself even if seemingly genuine and hopeful.  He thinks he can find a professional cabinet maker to construct new doors and drawer fronts in some cases, and to get the exact finish to match the other cabinets.  I'm not sure who he can find to make a tiny plastic, multiple-pieced, runner guide for drawers, given the cheap ones on the drawers snap and no replacement ones that we know of.

This nothing consecrated Catholic or perhaps more catholic hermit has Precious Blood backed up near the deck and the dolly in the bathroom.  The best plan may still occur today after John's return phone call.  Remove these lemon cabinets and return to the store.  I've already told them I don't care if they refund; I've lost far more in life over the years with bad deals, bad products, and horrible "raw deals" involving raw people and raw situations.  I can live without cabinets.  God will provide, surely, so that I can continue to make payments on the cabinets for another five years.

What difference does it make, really?  But no sense in continuing on with something that is rife with unfolding issues.  Tangible, temporal "things" can be that way.  My error in all this is to have ignored the odd glitch at the very beginning with a cabinet installer who came to measure, said not a word about his supposed "rule", and later having the store cabinet employee say that "Scott" will not install the cabinets if ordered before the drywall is up.  Did not make sense, although he took the $85 charge for coming to measure.  That, he did.

It seemed strange because the cabinet employee and I had meticulously created the kitchen plan on computerized graph design program.  Just used the room dimensions and added on 1/2" per wall for drywall.  No big deal, right?  Then the hermit was told that the promotional on the cabinets would be the last of its kind, of being a very good sale promotion.  Had better order before it ends.  Seemed good enough plan as installing cabinets can be tedious but just takes some shimming, leveling, and time.

When there is some odd glitch, up front, this old hermit should know better than to proceed.  The other day the store manager said he'd never heard of Scott's rule and thought it seemed wrong and odd.  Ah, yes.  And the manager said there are always promotions; but on my part, I can consider that perhaps not exactly the same types of promotions, giving benefit of the doubt.

In the spiritual life, we are far more assured of success than ever in the temporal.  There is a holy safeguard against proceeding when there is a glitch or obstacle at the beginning of some process--safeguards all along the way.  His Real Presence never lets us down.  There are no lemons in the spiritual life; the Stairway to Heaven is solid and even "fool" proof.

Even such as I, a currently spinally-headached, incapacitated hermit, can climb the stairway to heaven while yet in cabinet combat.  The stairway is the safe bet, of course.  All aspects of my soul's progression will be remedied, one way or another, by God, step by step.

As the young man, John, and the young female clerk he brought (along perhaps as witness, for John said he was not expecting the cabinets to be so well installed, nor did he expect to see so many cabinet issues), this hermit here gave them the last wrapped and beribboned slab of Fortitude Fudge--of the creamy, milk chocolate variety.  They were thrilled with the gift!

Perhaps that was one step upward.

God bless His Real Presence in us!  Grasp the scepter of righteousness!  Love freedom and hate wickedness!  Love one another, little children, all!