This is a Story, All About How, My Microwave EXPLODED

This is a story about my first microwave. I remember getting one when I was in college. It was amazing. I could cook food or reheat leftovers so easily. I opened the freezer and grabbed a chicken potpie and put it in the microwave for a couple minutes.

This is also the story about how I ruined my microwave. There was a warning on the package to remove the potpie from the miniature aluminum (or was it tin?) pan. If I had read the directions for the microwave, I would have seen that I couldn’t put metal in the microwave. And if I had listened to the thousands of microwave users that came before me, who understood microwaves better than me and had guidance from the microwave creator, I would have known the dangers of heating metal in the microwave.

But I thought they were all wrong; I thought that they needed to update those instructions to get with the times. They were making up rules simply to inconvenience me. So I said, “I’m not going to let some old guy tell me how to cook my potpie!” And I put the potpie in the microwave, tiny pan and all. I slammed the door shut, denying the authority of a silly manual. I pressed, “2 – 0 – 0 – cook.” And then it began.

[wolf_button target=”blank” url=”http://twitter.com/home/?status=So I said, ‘I’m not going to let some old guy tell me how to cook my potpie!’ – @KyleHeimann https://www.kyleheimann.com/microwave” color=”yellow” type=”flat” size=”big” target=”_blank” tagline=”click to tweet this!”]
So I said, “I’m not going to let some old guy tell me how to cook my potpie!”[/wolf_button]

It started with sparks and some weird noises. Then a little smoke and more sparks, and eventually the microwave stopped. I could smell the horrible stench of burning microwave. I can’t say that I had ever smelled burnt microwave before, but now I am an expert in identifying the smells of melted plastic and fried electrodes. And if you’ve never smelled it before, I would suggest avoiding it.

There were burn marks on the metal pan and on the walls of the microwave from the bolts of microwave lightning that bounced around in my food-warming box. The microwave was no longer functional, and worst of all, the potpie was still frozen in the middle.

I’ll be honest with you, it was kind of fun. It certainly wasn’t how my microwave was intended to work, but man was it spectacular. In the end, I ruined it and was going to need to get it fixed. The temporary pleasure was disrupted by destruction.

[wolf_button target=”blank” url=”http://twitter.com/home/?status=The temporary pleasure was disrupted by destruction. – @KyleHeimann https://www.kyleheimann.com/microwave” color=”yellow” type=”flat” size=”big” target=”_blank” tagline=”click to tweet this!”]
The temporary pleasure was disrupted by destruction.[/wolf_button]

Okay, so this story never actually happened. Even the thought of someone doing something so ridiculous is hard to believe. But this is so common in other areas of our lives.

So often, we look at the Bible, or the Catechism, or other teachings of the Church as dumb rules. As if God and His Church don’t understand what’s best for us, and that the Church needs to change to get with the times. And so we disregard these “instructions” and make our own rules. Whether we realize it or not, doing this is actually destroying a piece of us that will need to be repaired.

You see, the commandments and the “rules” of the Church are not meant to restrict us, but they are actually meant to enable us to be a better version of ourselves. When we choose sin or choose to live our lives without God, we are in essence telling the all-knowing, all-loving Creator that we know better… which, quite frankly, is impossible. (Check out this blog I wrote for Steubenville about trusting God.)

[wolf_button target=”blank” url=”http://twitter.com/home/?status=The “rules” of the Church are actually meant to enable us to be a better version of ourselves. – @KyleHeimann https://www.kyleheimann.com/microwave” color=”yellow” type=”flat” size=”big” target=”_blank” tagline=”click to tweet this!”]The “rules” of the Church are actually meant to enable us to be a better version of ourselves.[/wolf_button]

And if you have ever actually burned a microwave on accident, I won’t judge. I’ll just point you to the nearest microwave handyman. And if you have fallen into sin, I won’t judge either because we’re all sinners, but I’ll definitely point you to the one place where you can find healing: Confession.