I love my kitchen sink. It’s flush with the countertop, making it easy to wipe surface debris straight toward the disposal. It’s deep, it’s double, and best of all, it’s a significant upgrade from the sink I had when we lived in Illinois.

That sink was only 7” deep (barely big enough for a baby’s bottom), and despite being stainless steel, it was stained…. and dark with age. I hated that sink – but how well I remember the day it went from low-status to high, in one instant.

It had been been a rough day for me with a house full of children and their endless demands, bookended by a rebelling teen and an irritable 9-month-old.

Since the baby’s fussing wouldn’t let me make dinner, I put her in a backpack, trying to ignore her kicks-to-the-kidneys as she objected to being confined. That’s when I saw a fresh batch of scratches on my old stainless sink.

Immediately the accumulated frustrations of the day morphed into hot anger as I tried to guess which one of my children had dared to vandalize my already-pathetic sink. Grabbing the dish rag and attempting to rub away the scratches, I realized they were actually small letters. The vandal, whoever it was, had stood at the sink and carved…. “I love Mom.”

Instantly my anger dissolved in a deep sigh. I set the rag aside and traced the scratchy words with my finger. As the poignant message flowed into me, the accumulated tensions of the day flowed out.

Christians often say, “God will meet our needs.” That can sound generic, but when push comes to shove (as it had for me that day), he comes through in some very clever ways. Those small scratched words helped me in a way nothing else could have in that high-stress moment. And the comfort they gave lasted far longer than just that day.

Those three words continued to be an ongoing encouragement through 11 more years of working at that old sink. And when I found out the vandal had been my rebelling teen, it meant all the more. Though he couldn’t say it out loud back then, he’d found a way to let me know that through all our ups and downs, he still loved me.

Eventually we remodeled our 20-year-old kitchen, and the old sink was removed. But as I work in my current kitchen, I’m always reminded of the scratched words that ministered to me from an old “stainless” sink.

My God will supply every need of yours…. (Philippians 4:19)