Heart and Home by Susan L.

  My fridge has started making some rather unnerving noises. There's a slight grating sound when the motor kicks in. The growl goes away when I firmly tap the freezer door though. (Nothing like a good smack to stop it complaining). This may mean it could give up at some time in the near future but meanwhile, I'll simply keep an eye on it. Good thing it is rather empty. When the time comes, I'll have to make the choice between having it repaired or replaced. It could cost as much to fix as it could to buy a new one. Too bad. I don't think it's that old.
  I am glad I am not a fridge.
  This one came with the house when I moved in. That's how I got my stove, too. They were fairly new but both bore evidence of someone with a terrible temper. The house did as well. Fist prints in the doors, holes in the walls, dents and scratches, the profanity covered wall in the basement. (The first thing I painted over.) The pots 'n pans drawer under the stove is bent and tends to slip off its wheels. A quick lift and it closes nicely. I know all about slipping off my wheels!
  Most of the evidence is gone, plastered and painted over. Only I know what lay beneath. I have given thanks time and again that I have the skills to redeem this little bungalow with it's stories of violence and neglected yard. In a way, the two of us have healed together. I know that having the house or garden to work on has given me the incentive to keep going on many a dark day.
  The doors haven't been replaced yet and there's still some trim work to do in the living room and kitchen. The bathroom needs redoing. Whatever. It's a work in progress. Just like me.
  Thank You, Lord, I can see the humour in the fact that right now, You are gently lifting my derailed drawers off the floor. It feels good to laugh!
  "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross." Col 1:19