my fridge died

When I was putting away the groceries last week, my fridge quit blowing cold air.  Just stopped.  Completely stopped.  Admittedly, it is old--it is not surprising that it was in the last days of sharing with me its frigid air.  It was also a gift--given to me by some missionary friends from Meinong.   I guess holding the door open that long to put away stuff just caused the fridge to finally give out, blowing its last cold puff of air on my face and hands.

My immediate reaction was to panic.  My heart started to race.  I worried about all the meats I had just bought--what a waste.  I worried about replacing the fridge with a new one--it is not in my budget.  I worried about how do I even get rid of the old one.  I worried about the time it would take to go find a new one.  I worried about what to do with getting rid of all the stuff inside the fridge. (I'll tell you in another post about garbage take out here.)

Then I thought, well maybe it can be fixed.  So, then I worried about how to find a handyman to fix my fridge.  I worried about how much that would cost.  I worried about how long that would take.  I worried about how messy the inside of the fridge was and how embarrssing it would be to let some outsider see it in such a mess.   

All of this worry raced into my heart and filled my mind.  Then, I came to my study and just prayed a simple prayer, "Lord, can you fix my fridge?  I don't have the means to deal with this right now.  I need to you take care of this."

I kept checking the non-working fridge every five minutes for about an hour.  Still no cold air.  I talked to some Taiwanese friends about how to find a handyman.  I even searched online for the approximate costs of new fridges and what to look for when buying a new one.  I still had a heart that was beating faster than normal and a blood pressure probably higher than it should have been. 

I was on my out the door to go ask the security guard downstairs for help in locating a handyman when I stopped by the fridge for one last check.  I opened the door to the freezer, peeked inside, and  . . . the air came back on! 

After over one hour of my frozen foods starting to defrost, my fridge came back on.  It was fixed.  And a week later is still running like normal.  Praise the Lord!  He fixed my refridgerator.  He answered my cry for help.  He cares for me!* 

I guess I am still working on being obeident to this command:

"Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns.  Before you know it, a sense of God's wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down. It's wonderful what happens when Christ displaces worry at the center of your life. (Philippians 4:6-7)

I am thankful that I did eventually allow petitions to shape my worries into prayers.  How I wish it would have been my instant, gut reaction the moment the cold air quit blowing.

Thank you, Jesus, for fixing my fridge.  Thank you for caring for me.  Thank you for showing me I need to turn to you first because you really do love me and care about the things that concern me.  You are truly a good God!!

*"Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you." (1 Peter 5:7)

(The pic above is of some students painting the fridge black in the fall of 2004.)