Life Lessons From My Printer
By Carol Yoder
When the message on my Brother printer went from “Toner Low” to “Toner Empty”, I was not worried. You see, I had a brand new box that came with my second-hand printer. It had been sitting on the shelf for five years just waiting for this moment. The printer was a commercial grade and had plenty of copies left on it when I got it.
The time had come. I grabbed the box and blew the layer of dust off the top. My only worry was that it had been sitting unused for so long that perhaps there was an expiration date. Nope – no date that I could see. I opened the box and carefully followed the instructions. I delved into parts of the machine I had not been before – I felt like I was on a Star Trek mission – going where no man had gone before.
The new part was installed and the final door closed. A series of beep da da beep beeps, a green light, then a red light. “Toner Empty”. OH NO! I read the instructions again. Maybe a misconnection. I tried again. Beep da da beep beep —green—red—”Toner Empty”. This was repeated at least 10 times. Frustrated but not to be swayed, I went where every problem solving person goes – to the internet.
I typed in every scenario I could think of. I followed every troubleshooting guide. I opened and closed doors and pressed combinations of buttons—to no success. This search proceeded off and on for several days, and those days turned into weeks and each time I would leave it in a huff of frustration and wanting to throw it in the trash.
Finally, I decided to call Brother directly. After hearing my dilemma, the kind customer service agent asked for the number on the box. When I gave it to her, she told me I had been replacing the drum and not the toner. I needed toner.
“Ohhhhhhhhhhhhh”. Face palm. The red light in my head turned green. I ordered toner. When it arrived, I replaced the toner. Beep da da beep beep GREEN LIGHT! First try.
Now, I’m sure you can add your own lessons to this story. But I’ll tell you three of the things I learned:
LAUGH…AND LEARN: Seeing the humor in things can lighten the load. Proverbs 17:22 says, “A cheerful disposition is good for your health; gloom and doom leave you bone-tired”. Laughter also opens our heart and allows the lesson to take shape. I’ll never try to put another drum into my machine to fix the toner!
THE RIGHT TOOL AND THE RIGHT QUESTION: No matter how many times I wanted that drum to be a toner, it wasn’t going to fix the problem. A tool is only as good as its user: I can have a great resource, but if I don’t use it correctly, I will not get the success I am hoping for. God has given each person gifts and talents. As we grow, we learn to use them and with that - we can build each other up and build the things around us.
GO TO THE SOURCE: I looked for input from many sources. People who had printers that worked, people who fixed printers, people who had their own problems with printers. No one could help me because I wasn’t even asking the right question. Brother created that printer and the tools to go with it. They knew the right questions to ask and how to help me. God is our source. His Word is our instruction manual. We can go to Him for wisdom and understanding.
I confess, I felt a little ignorant at the end of this journey. But I also felt joy because I could move on and use the tool I needed. One of the verses I am pondering this year is in Colossians 2:6-8:
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the elemental spiritual forces of this world rather than on Christ.”
As a new year dawns, I invite you on a journey with me. Let’s press through those feelings of frustration and ignorance, go to the source to keep learning and growing so we can deepen the roots of our faith.
We don’t have to take the journey alone, but we do need to take the step forward.
One of the amazing tools God has given us is His Word — the instruction manual of life and full of wisdom and understanding. Maybe, what took weeks, could take a matter of minutes in His presence. And maybe the tools I have just need some guidance from the Master.
And that drum….it is going back on the shelf, because when the time comes I will know how to use it!
