Today is a day for gratitude. Following morning worship yesterday, we came home and got lunch. When I opened the freezer to get ice cream for dessert, I discovered everything was partially thawed. The fridge had died! What followed was a mad scramble to rescue as much food as possible. Fortunately, I had a partially empty freezer in the garage. Fortunately, I had three coolers to accommodate the salvageable things from the refrigerator side. Fortunately, the gentleman at Lowe’s helped us find a unit that will fit our very limited space and could be delivered and installed as early as tomorrow. Fortunately, our daughter was able to drive me to Lowe’s, and since her dishwasher had died, we were able to order one for her, as well. Fortunately, both appliances come with free installation. And fortunately, later, when I decided to go buy more ice and discovered a flat tire a neighbor came to my rescue!
What I am relearning from this experience is that by just taking a tiny step backward to gain a bit of perspective, I was able to recognize just how lucky I was that things unfolded as they did. What if the fridge has died when I was away? What if my daughter had not been with me? What if I’d had to wait a month or so to get a new fridge? What if I could not have afforded to get a new refrigerator? What if friends hadn’t pitched in to help? It can be so easy to blow seemingly negative or inconvenient situations all out of proportion that, once again, I find myself relying on the Serenity Prayer for perspective.
“God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference!”