So far, the house hasn't blown up. That's good. The fireplace job is officially finished. Another slithering through the crawl space, brushing cobwebs out of the way, tossing mummified starlings off to one side, while I screwed the brackets holding the gas line in place. That crawl space is fast becoming my man-cave, except it's not a fun place to be. Shutting off the gas valve, unscrewing the old supply to the furnace, adding a T to the new stove, and putting it all back together gives plenty of opportunity for error, which could prove to be tragic. I tightened every fitting, tested every joint. No leaks.
It took awhile for the gas to make its way through the line to the stove, but finally, I hit the piezo and the pilot lit. Smelled terrible as it burned off whatever chemicals are in the ceramic logs. A twist of the valve, the burner ignites, and I am a happy man. But when it hit its set temperature and shut down, it shut down the pilot as well, and wouldn't restart. The troubleshooting guide indicated three possibilities, none of which I've had time to test yet. I am going to win this fight! I haven't gone to all this trouble to be defeated now, although at times I do have to ask myself where I laid my brain when I decided to start this whole affair. All this to say, I am thankful for the warm day today. Last week was cold and snowy, yesterday the temperature hit sixty, today in the mid fifties, but everything drops down to seasonally normal thirties tomorrow. I was able to have the furnace out of commission for a couple hours without freezing the entire house, so even if the stove doesn't yet work, the furnace still does. And tomorrow, I will, too.
This whole affair is to me, a picture of our salvation. Before I even began, I knew the end result I wanted. I have the resources and the determination to get there, even though the project took me in some unexpected directions and detours. It has been at times frustrating and disappointing, but the end is in sight, and I WILL get there! I wonder what God thinks about all the detours and disappointments I've given him over the years. He had the end in mind before time began. The Bible uses an interesting phrase in this regard. It says Christ was crucified "from the foundation of the world," meaning that our salvation was no afterthought, not some sort of divine whim. I didn't foresee all the problems that were hiding in the shadows, but God knew from the beginning the missteps, betrayals, foolish choices I would make, and yet he dove into this business of salvation anyway. He sees the end product, and is determined to get me there. Even if my fire dies and I can't get it started again, he can...and does. So tonight I am thankful for this recalcitrant fireplace, if only because of the lesson in life and grace I am able to glean from it. And besides all this, the house is still standing.
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