Tales from the Deep Freezer

The day had started out just like any other summer vacation day. I had planned some activities for the kids and we were rushing around having breakfast and getting ready when the phone rang. Plans got cancelled. Bummer. But the disappointment was short-lived in my mind as I pondered all of the other things I could accomplish for the day. I stepped out into the garage to take some chicken out to defrost for dinner that night when I saw "the river." Streaming from the freezer to underneath of our garage doors ran a reddish purple flow. Suddenly, my day was planned for me! I chose to take it in stride and purposed to have a good attitude throughout the sloppy mess that awaited me. I had learned long ago that I could get all frazzled, whine, complain, and throw a fit, but in the end the mess would still be there. "It is what it is" one of my old pastor's wives used to say. (Thanks Chris Leach!) Bribing the older two to watch the younger (extra Webkins or X-box time would be in their future IF they could read and play nicely with their 21 month old sibling.) I rushed out to the garage and began cleaning the mess. I prayed, "Ok God, I can see that you did already know that this had happened and you allowed my plans to cancel on me so I didn't have to worry about doing that as well, but I am looking for how you are going to turn this into good!"

As I checked things out, it was clear that the freezer was still operational. Someone must have left the door open a crack and it had eventually triggered the emergency shut off mode because it was unable to maintain the frozen temperature. As I reset the freezer with the simple push of a button it occurred to me that it only takes us leaving the door of our lives open a crack to let sin cause destruction in our lives. But sadly, it's not usually a simple push of a "reset" button and a bunch of paper towels to clean up the mess. Most likely, the freezer had been left open a crack a while before I saw "the mess." On the outside it can still appear that things are fine for quite some time before sin takes it's toll, but what a yucky, sticky mess it can yield. I was reminded of the verse, "...Don't you know that a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough?" I Cor. 5:6 and also the commonly known saying that it only takes "one rotten apple to ruin the whole bushel." While I Corinthians 5 is speaking directly to expelling an immoral brother from the church, God used this Scripture to speak to my heart about how sin can enter in a life in a very small almost innocent looking way, but sin unchecked leads to ruin. Always a good reminder to "keep our hearts door sealed from sin." Do you need to check the door on your deep freeze? I did-more on that Wednesday.
You may be wondering how the kids made out...there were several juice boxes, snacks and tv shows involved, but they did manage to work together to earn the precious extra "fun" time!
Many Blessings!