Thursday, June 29, 2017

A Vacuum Cleaner and Hope

I own the Cadillac of vacuum cleaners, or so I was led to believe - a Kirby G5. You see, we bought this vacuum cleaner over 20 years ago as the result of a sales presentation at our house.

Normally, I am resistant to these demos but the salesperson caught us at the right time - our son was just diagnosed with asthma and was having major attacks and when he vacuumed his mattress and showed us what this vacuum cleaner could do, we were sold. (BTW, do you vacuum your mattress?) So we invested and bought this vacuum cleaner.

This vacuum cleaner came with a manual and a video, providing instructions on its maintenance. Over time I became intimidated by the maintenance of the vacuum cleaner; I felt like I could never remember the steps for changing the belt - but thankfully the need for changing the belt was not often. I did use the video to tap into some of the other features of this Cadillac such as shampooing the carpets, but again over time I stopped. It was too much of a hassle (or so I thought).

This vacuum cleaner moved with us to the west coast; initially, it was working and then it stopped. I couldn't find the manual or the video so I left it sitting in the garage for years and in the interim bought two cheaper vacuum cleaners. Both of these ultimately died and both were not as good as my Kirby. In my new location, I discovered that there were two vacuum cleaner repair shops that specialized in Kirbys. Because everything is more expensive in CA or so I was led to believe, I hesitated before finally taking the vacuum in for service. My house was becoming dusty and this was becoming a crisis. I anticipated paying $200.00 to have this vacuum cleaner serviced; imagine my relief when I was told it was 50.00. I was never so excited to spend $50.00. Finally, I had a working vacuum cleaner and my crisis was averted.

Within the past two years, that service store closed so now I was forced to use the other store. Well, the service is different at this store and more costly. I paid, but I decided my trips would be minimal. I asked my husband to vacuum our bedroom recently. While vacuuming, something got in that shouldn't and all of a sudden the place smelt like burning rubber. He thought he'd ruined the vacuum cleaner and with great remorse, called to let me know as I was not home at the time. I told him not to worry, I'd deal with it later. As I assessed the problem I realized the belt was off and installing the belt was always my nemesis. What to do? Somehow the brilliant idea came to me that I could Youtube it. So I had the Little One search for "how to change a belt on the Kirby" and lo and behold we had options. I chose the shortest one - one minute and 32 seconds, watched it a couple of times while pausing as I completed each step until I had successfully changed the belt.

Why did it take me so long to master something so simple?

  • My thoughts got in the way - I thought it was complicated to maintain because of the initial cost.
  • I believed some myths/lies - it's complicated and costly to maintain.
  • Bad timing - it's hard to maintain; I couldn't find the manual or the original video


But this time I was motivated. I knew I could do it. I wanted what every Kirby owner enjoyed - peace of mind and knowledge. I decided to try a new method of grasping the same old information. Youtube did it for me! There are many ways to share information - speaking, writing, texting, blogging, vlogging, youtube. And since we're all different and have different learning styles, none of these methods are right or wrong. As I watched that video, I was grateful that someone chose to make it and I was encouraged to continue sharing information, truth, and encouragement in the medium that works for me because there are those that are receptive to it. I also was glad I was motivated and never gave up and kept trying different methods until I conquered this.

Sometimes it seems as if we praying for a long time to see the truth, or for a particular person. Many prayers have been sent up, but still, we see no change. Like a Youtube video 20 years later, you may finally see the light. Don't give up, remember your motivation, stop believing lies and keep trying.

Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. Matthew 7:7-8

Have you ever felt like giving up? What motivates you to keep going?

--Nylse

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17 comments:

  1. YouTube has been a money saver for Sean and I. You can find a way to fix anything on YouTube. I can imagine a lot of things were not done before everyday people began sharing how to tutorials.

    Growing up, it was always put it us that we don't give up. There are some things that we won't be great at but that's part of the learning as well. We can't have every gift but we always try.

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  2. Amen. Whether a big thing or a small thing, the reward seems to be in the perseverance. Thanks for sharing, Nylse. (My husband's grandparents had one of those vacuums and they loved theirs too. :) ) ((hug))

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  3. To me, your article highlighted that we tend to let our thinking GET IN THE WAY of accomplishing or progressing. May the Lord's will be done, even in our thinking, and may we be faithful to do his will! Thank you for the fun read, with scripture !!!
    http://grandmamarymartha.blogspot.com

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  4. Oh, and I LOVE your visual on this one !!

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  5. We have a Kirby too and it is so much better than the new ones out there. Youtube has helped us save on some repair costs also. What a wonder the internet is! Great comparison post. I am visiting from Dance with Jesus.

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  6. "Don't give up, remember your motivation, stop believing lies, and keep trying." <--- I so needed these words today! Thanks so much for sharing, Nylse! GOD bless you, Sister! :-)

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  7. Thank you for your article. It is the 3rd Christian blog post "on cleaning" that I have come across in less than 1 hour and I know it is not a coincidence. Coincidentally I used to sell Kirbys many years ago and what that job told me is "Never give up".

    To answer your question of what motivates me not to give up is "What was the initial vision?" You see, when I lose sight of the original vision that made me make the first step then I can easily get side tracked and give up. That is why I believe in "Write the vision and make it plain so that
    person who reads it, can run."

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  8. Sounds like my story...we've owned our Kirby for 23 years, and although I rarely give in to demos, this has been a winner!

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  9. love your story while the vaccum should have been easy it is us that get in the way. Often that happens to me something easy to others will be disected and thought about in a way that makes it difficult to get done
    thanks for sharing your post
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  10. Such a great example of why we need to keep on seeking, searching, trusting, and praying. And well...looking on You Tube! :) I had to smile because I probably wouldn't have considered You Tube as a first step, but my millennials in the house certainly would. Thank goodness for google and You Tube.

    Thanks for sharing this with the #GraceMoments Community!
    Blessigns,
    Dawn

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