Could it be?

I'm almost afraid to hope.
My Juki TL98E has been on another extended vacation. Last November, it went to Alabama. It was there for over two months, coming home with a new main circuit board, but that did not fix the problem it had with the thread cutter and needle up/down functions. I was such a wreck, when it came home in late January, I left it in the box until six months later. Then, on August 3rd I faced my fears and took it out of the box to find out it wasn't fixed. (I don't handle disappointments well.) I was so disappointed in the dealer who 'fixed' it originally, that I didn't want to send it back there, so I searched and searched for somewhere else to send it. Juki's are wonderful machines, but Authorized Dealers and repair centers around this are are scarce. There are none within reasonable driving distance for me to take it to. Thanks to my sweet husband, and several phone calls later, we found a repair center about four hours away, near Chicago, to send it to. It has been gone well over a month, (and travels more than I do!) and today we got some disappointing news. The repair technicians were pulling their hair out trying to figure out what was wrong with it. They said it was really baffling them, and if they didn't figure it out soon, it was going to be on the next truck 'South' to see a 'specialist' at the 'Great Juki Hospital' in Miami.

With this news, I was wondering, WHO was going to PAY for all this????? (ME!) The technicians had already replaced a wiring harness, and that wasn't the problem, they had replaced a solenoid, and that wasn't the problem, one technician had gone through it and couldn't find the problem, so he handed it over to another technician hoping that a 'new set of hands and eyes' might find something. It had been in the 'operating room' for half a day already today, not counting the other countless hours it had been worked on previously. When I talked to Louie at noon, he was told another hour or so would tell the tale, (and THEY hated to say it, because THIS was something they just 'HAD NOT SEEN before') but it looked like my Juki just might have grown on a 'LEMON TREE'. (BIG SIGH!) (Why is it when bad things happen, I am the 'lucky' one, but when it comes to good things, my number isn't drawn??) Ok....it's not that bad, it just seems that way.

Sew..........at last break at work today, I checked my email, and my sweet Louie had sent me an email saying the 'Hospital' had called, and my Juki was fixed! Yay! A miracle! Seems they missed it the first time, but they were confident that the problem was NOW fixed. The technicians were very excited. The problem was the circuit board that runs the solenoid for the thread cutter, plus, the timing from the needle up (whatever that means) was off 45*.

$264 later, and my Juki is on it's way home. I feel like a long lost friend is coming home and I should have a 'Welcome Home' party. If it hopped on the truck yet this afternoon, I could see it tomorrow, but most likely, it will be Friday, or Monday, and it WILL be out of the box as soon as it arrives. My closest friends know how distraught I have been. I DO hope this ordeal is over now. My Juki worked flawlessly for over three years, until last November. I have shared this machine with my quilting friends, and I KNOW it has quilted over 100 quilts, riding on my Hinterberg quilt frame. It has been a good friend.

WELCOME HOME, JUKI! (I have never named a machine before, but after all this, it seems like it REALLY should have one!)

Thank you, Lord, for helping me find hope in the pages of the Bible and the wise observations of friends. I find hope in the books I read, the songs I listen to, and the stories I hear, but each of these good things that speak hope to me are from You. Every source of hope finds it's beginning in You. (from Everyday Prayers for Everyday Cares for Women)

17 The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears them; He delivers them from all their troubles. 18The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

Psalms 34: 17-18