Imagine my horror when my husband told me this morning that the deep freezer door was left wide open and all of the food in it had been defrosted. I just threw the pillow over my head! I did not want to deal with this on a Monday morning after being at a baseball field all day in 90+ degree heat. I surely did not want to deal with it when I just finished my weekly shopping this past weekend and spent about $200 buying groceries (mostly meat) for the week to feed these growing dudes in my house! The food I told my son to put in the deep freezer!

Did I tell you, I did not want to deal with it.

Eventually, I went to survey the damage and it was just as bad as my husband described.

My son did not lock the freezer and for some reason, a large package of chicken wings fell out the freezer; leaving the door wide open! I am still trying to wrap my head around that one! ANYWAY…..

Just about EVERYTHING (chicken, salmon, fruit, soups, ham, turkey, dressing mix, ham hocks, leftovers, etc) were completely defrosted and at room temperature (90 degrees since it was in the garage)! Why this didn’t happen when my husband was getting ice cream from the other refrigerator is a mystery. He was the last one in the garage and all was well.

I was only able to salvage the fish (Swai, Crappie, and River Catfish). The Crappie and catfish were still partially frozen. The Swai had defrosted but was still cold; but I will have a long day of cooking Swai in various ways today (baking it, air frying, it, grilling it, and pan frying it). My family will be sick of fish this week!

As I was dumping meat after meat after vegetable after fruit after leftover into the trash, I wanted to jump into my flesh and CUSS everyone out. Yes, I said it. I am still a work in progress! LOL! But thank God the spiritual fruit of self-control took over! I am so glad the power of Holy Spirit is in us because that is what saved my son this morning!

My husband calmly told everyone about the need to lock the freezer door and how we need to do everything with excellence. My oldest son felt so bad. I could see it on his face! I retreated to a quiet place and told God the following:

God, I asked you for a financial blessing, not a financial waste. What lesson is there for me to learn in this?

Then I thought about the fact I had not written my article yet and was waiting on a topic to be given me.

Then I thought about the conversation I had with my son regarding the sermon topic.

He told me he needed that sermon because he was dealing with his identity and what he was supposed to be doing with his life. It was a great mountaintop experience for him. He was encouraged! He was refueled. He knew God had a plan! (THANKS PASTOR HERBERT!) Then he accidentally forgets to lock the freezer door on Sunday afternoon which does not manifest itself until Monday morning; leaving behind a trail of damaged food and wasted money. Talk about a Mountain High, Valley Low experience.

Can you imagine what must have been going through his mind? I can.

“Dang, I messed up…again.”

“Man, my mama is mad at me.”

“My daddy is going to say how many times have I told you…?”

“Why didn’t I lock the freezer?”

“I am the worst person in the world.”

“What can I do to fix this?”

The Devil was attacking my son. My husband and I could join in on the attack or we could fight the enemy! Well…we chose war!! My husband encouraged and gently corrected. I broke out my pen because this was an answer to prayer. I now had an article to write! It didn’t come when I wanted, but it came on time! Isn’t that like our God!

Check out this scripture that I just so happened to come across today while typing. Not a coincidence at all!

“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4:1-6‬ ‭ESV‬‬

We must walk in a manner worthy of our calling with humility, gentleness, patience and love; maintaining unity! The devil loves to cause division; but we have the power to stop it and the destruction it causes!

Friends, we will make mistakes. Some will be a result of negligence. Some will result even after careful attention. Some will be a result of poor planning. Some will be a result of excellent planning. No matter what the situation, a mistake will happen. And most often, it will not be intentional. Our response can either fuel the fire or extinguish the fire. How will you respond when you are impacted by the mistake made?

Please choose to extinguish the fire. Please choose humility, gentleness, patience and love. Please choose the opportunity to teach a lesson. Walk away if you must to pray (which should be our first response). Walk away if you must to gather your faculties. Walk away if you must to get your words together.  But come back. Come back with the right words to encourage and edify. Our words have the power of life and death.

Deuteronomy‬ ‭30:19‬, ESV says,

 “I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live,”

Choose life so that you and your offspring may live! We are at WAR my friends. The devil wants us and our children to be defeated! Do not join forces with Satan to kill yourself and your children.

CHOOSE LIFE!

My food is not coming back. It is in the trash can waiting for Tuesday’s garbage pickup.

My deep freezer is pretty much empty; but I have the opportunity to fill it up with new things!

My son was empty for a minute; but we filled him up with love, encouragement, forgiveness, and correction-Things that will never get old, freezer burned or wasted!

My son made a mistake but it didn’t define him or ruin his day. BUT, he has created a new chore for him and his brother! They will be checking the freezer every night before they go to bed to make sure it is locked and secure. They will be organizing the food in the freezer once a month to ensure everything is neatly fitting in a space so that it does not fall out. I know, we are comedians at Heard University but serious about teaching lessons!

We chose life!

CHOOSE LIFE!

SPICING UP YOUR SOUL