The Deep Freeze

Among many reasons for this little project this year is this.  In all candidness, we are big, dumb, lazy, thoughtless wasters.  We are.  Here’s a little story that makes my point.

We arrived home from our Christmas travels fired up to get started.  I discovered a few hours after arriving home that our trusty deep freeze in the garage was barely functioning as a refrigerator.  In other words, all of the contents of the deep freeze were soft -- not rotten, but certainly not reliably edible.  So, when it is trash day this week, we will be dumping.  A lot.

Most of the food had been in there for a long time.  We sort of did the last-in-first-out method of freezer management which means that we skimmed what we wanted off the top, and left the bottom layers to sit frozen for eternity.  That’s what I mean:  lazy, thoughtless wasters.  Why would I buy a pound of ground beef from the grocery store when there is a perfectly good supply of hamburger from our family’s ranch in our freezer?  Because, apparently, I’m too short-sighted to think about pulling it out of the freezer to thaw so it’s ready when I need it.

About that gift of meat from my parents’ ranch:  There most of it sat, frozen and unopened, for a long time which means I really wasn’t a gracious receiver of their free gift.  Sound like a familiar theme?  It reminds me of how long and how cavalierly we hear the message about the free gift of salvation without really receiving it and allowing it to nourish and become a part of us.  How long, really, can any of us put free gifts on ice, believing they’ll be there someday when we decide we’re ready?  And another thing…there was enough in our deep freeze that we could easily have passed beef and fish on to others – amplifying the value of the gift.  We did a few times, but not nearly as often as there would have been opportunities had we really just thought about it.

So, to my great Dad and Mom, I’m sorry to waste your gift.  I pray I get it through my thick skull that I bless the giver when I receive gratefully and don’t put the gift on ice.

I also think this freezer situation is a nudge by God to get on with it.  Turn away from the old, and move into a time of pursuing the Lord’s will without the backup of a deep freeze full of unappreciated gifts.

So many lessons already, and we haven’t even begun this thing yet!  Sunday is the day.  I’ll post tomorrow about the “rules of engagement” for month #1:  FOOD.

P.S.  We won’t be replacing the deep freeze.