The Pilot Light

James and I recently had a weekend away in the snowy mountains. It has been a crazy start to the year and I was so looking forward to a relaxing weekend of doing not much. We arrived after dark on Friday night, excited with the anticipation of the warm, cosy chalet that awaited us… but the reality that greeted us was far from what I was expecting.

When we arrived, we turned the heater on to warm the house while we unpacked the car, but it very quickly became apparent that it was getting colder with the dark of night, not warmer! After an hour or so of trying to get the heater to work, we decided to call reception to alert them to the issue. Their first response was that it must have been something we had done as the maintenance man had been there in the afternoon to turn the heating on and make sure it was working… which it apparently was earlier in the day but by the time we got there it had switched off.

The resort management were lovely, they brought us extra heaters to get us through the night and assured us they would get someone out to look at the heater the next day. So, with the extra heaters on and the fire we had also lit, our little chalet finally started to warm up and we could relax and enjoy our evening.

Saturday morning was beautiful… cozy and warm inside, frosty and cold outside. We went for a walk and had literally just sat down for brunch when we got a phone call saying that the repair man was on his way and we had to vacate the premises asap (due to Coronavirus social distance rules we couldn’t be in the house at the same time) … ok, fine… but can we at least eat our bacon and egg rolls first?!

Throughout this experience, the Holy Spirit kept saying to me, over and over again whenever I felt myself getting agitated at the inconvenience…. Keep your spirit soft… keep your attitude sweet. And that’s what I did. Yes, it was annoying, but I didn’t get angry… we just let them do what they needed to do.

And, after a bit of to-ing and fro-ing with the maintenance guys, the problem was found.

It turned out that the pilot light that ignites the heater wasn’t working… And, because it hadn’t been used for so long, when it was switched back on it didn’t ignite properly.

As with any appliance, for a pilot light to work effectively it has to be properly maintained… and used! Often pilot lights will be extinguished over the warmer months to save gas and then turned back on to ignite the heating for the colder months but, as was the case with ours, sometimes the disuse causes them to become blocked or unable to be ignited again.

Who can relate to this? I certainly can!

The Holy Spirit is our ‘pilot light’. It is He who keeps us from becoming cold and it is He who works through us to bring light and warmth to those around us. And, if we stifle Him or let Him go out, we are ineffective.

There have been many times in my life when I have let my pilot light go out. Life has become difficult, or too busy, and I forget to spend time in the Word and in prayer, talking and communing with my Heavenly Father to hear what He has to say. I get disappointed or let down by a friend or loved one, I get discouraged by a poorly thought out negative word, my needs don’t get met and at times I have just simply given up, trying to find the closest corner where I can just curl up and hide.

But, I wasn’t put here to curl up and hide… and I’ve discovered on so many occasions that it is impossible to hide from God! He pursues me with His relentless love, calling me back and comforting me…. Reigniting my passion for Him, and His purpose for my life.

So, back to my experience with our weekend away. There is a choice to be made with our attitudes when things don’t always go as we planned. I could have so easily been outraged, complained bitterly to the resort manager and become offended when they tried to blame us but what would that have achieved? Nothing. It was Friday night and everything was closed so there was literally nothing more that she could have done at the time. And if I had become angry and upset, it would have spoiled mine and James’ time together as well.

 “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me”. Psalm 51:10

The pilot light wasn’t fixed that weekend… it needed a new bit that had to be ordered in but it was still a beautiful weekend away… we had all the heaters we needed, we had stunning scenery to enjoy, we had quality time with each other…. And the resort gave us a free dinner for being so patient and understanding of the situation!

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28