A Working Refrigerator

Daily Gratitude Year 6- Day 126: Today, I am grateful for a working refrigerator.

Ours is getting old and really needs to be replaced. It has things that aren't working perfectly, but the truth is... it keeps cold things cold and frozen things frozen. 

What a big, beautiful luxury is a working fridge. We do love our chilled beverages and enjoy a plethora of affordable foods...especially if you buy in season items. When I was a child, we didn't even know what a kiwi was. Now, I have a little carton in the fridge, just waiting to be a healthy snack or part of our favorite fruit salsa. 

The idea of life without a fridge... it is too foreign to imagine. I am not a camper, but even those who camp typically have something more than a cooler and ice for perishables these days. Roughing it is not that rough for most who enjoy wilderness sleeping and dining. My brother's camper has all the amenities of home. It is equipped with a nice refrigerator and freezer. 

Today, consider the number of times the refrigerator door is open in one day. Sometimes, just for gazing and calculating "What's for dinner?". I know that I take it for granted. 

My life is so modern from that of my grandparents and great grandparents who used root cellars and the "ice box" for food storage, that I can't even imagine it. Time does change things. Today, I live in a world where kids have no concept of life before cell phone technology. 

The truth is, technology changes things and it is always changing. One thing that has been a consistent part of any "modern" kitchen is the refrigerator. Whenever I think about the things that make my role as a homemaker more convenient, the fridge is at the top of the list. I trust it to keep the food safe and good.

I can't help but think of the many generations who managed to survive before this "modern" invention, that has conceptual roots that go back to Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson. 

I wonder at the life of the Israelites in the wilderness where God provided their daily bread and quail in Exodus 16. It was a lesson in trust and obedience. Only on the day before the Sabbath were they instructed and allowed to gather extra manna, so they could keep the Sabbath a day of rest. Every other day, they needed to gather enough for that day alone. God longed for them to trust His provision. The land promised to them was not that far way, but their hearts were far from a place of trusting God completely. Miracles every day, but still doubted his goodness. 

"And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.” -Exodus 16:8

I have learned over the past few years not to feel superior to the Israelites. I am no better than them. I grumble, too. Even when I need only look around to realize that God has provided for my needs... and so much more. My fridge is old. It isn't pretty and has some things that aren't working perfectly... but it works. I need to give thanks with a grateful heart.

Today, I am grateful for a working refrigerator.