{the lesson from my fridge}

it all started with a conversation at the gym ...

me: "there's an odd odor in the fridge/freezer, my ice cubes & lemons even taste funny" 

rick: "there's nothing in there, what can smell?"

me: "i don't know, but i'm going to clean it out when we get home"

{such words from me often strike fear in rick as cleaning often means things are relocated ... he probably had visions of a complete kitchen remodel by the time i was done!}

when we got home, i proceeded to remove every.single.thing from the freezer, washed down all the shelves and walls with thieves spray and emptied and washed out the ice bin. i'm not sure if i've ever done that. gross, i know, sorry! nothing i took out seemed to smell funny, but i kept on with the project. throwing away a few outdated things & organizing the rest. 

today, i had crushed ice again ... maybe not a big deal to you, but i like crushed ice in my water, and i was so happy the ice-maker was working properly again; who knew all that clogged up ice would make it not work? 

 but ... there was still a little bit of an odor in the fridge/freezer :( 

hhmmm ... maybe it is coming from the fridge; even though it's almost as empty as the freezer ... but, out came every.single.thing. from the fridge including shelves and door pockets.  all removable parts were washed in hot soapy water and the interior was sprayed with thieves and wiped down before i re-loaded the fridge ... seriously, how can it get so dirty and full of crumbs in there? but ... i could smell a funky smell ... grrr :/

maybe there is something under the fridge, which is a very scary thought because i had visions of finding a small deceased rodent hiding there.

 first, i removed the kick plate and oh.my.goodness ... obviously i don't do that often enough ... i pulled this out from the coils. probably not the cause of the odor, but could be why the freezer seemed like it wasn't working very well?!

really, i do like things clean and tidy, it's that sometimes, i forget about the out-of-sight-out-of-mind places, and really, how many of you remember to clean under your fridge on a regular basis? 

i will now!

thankfully that little pile did not contain any dead little rodent like creatures, but it also couldn't account for any funky odors!

back to the drawing board ... i got out my flashlight and looked deeper under the fridge and, who knew, there was a drip pan, and it looked like there was water sitting in it ... there was also no.easy.way to just slide the pan out from under the fridge.

since i can tend to be a bit stubborn {thanks dad}, i was not about to ask rick for help with this project, so i googled "how do i remove the drip pan from my whirpool fridge"! 

it's amazing how many experts there are on any given topic, as i found many "how-to" videos on the subject. as i tend to have a short attention span at times, i chose the shortest video i could find! 

the guy doing the video made it look so easy, and "all" i needed was a putty knife, a utility knife and 3 different size ratchets and only needed to remove about 10 screws! 

in came the toolbox from the trunk of the car, which i think began to make rick just a little bit nervous as the last time i dragged out tools and started making a racket, he came in the basement to find walls torn down!

after using the 3 different ratchets described in the how-to video, the underside of the fridge was thoroughly dis-assembled, vacuumed and the cracked drip pan removed {yuck}, washed and properly duct-taped where it had cracks. yes, i'm a good yooper girl, duct tape is my friend. it's the black you can see on the drip pan in the photo below!

i am happy to report that no animals or humans were injured during this process, that i didn't end up with any extra parts when i was done; and everything i removed fit back the way it was when i started. always a good sign, right?

 soon everything was scrubbed down, put back together and the fridge was back in it's designated spot. rick was feeling relieved that no walls came down today and he didn't have to tend to any injuries that i'd caused myself {a common occurrence when i'm "on a mission"

moral of the story?

if you think you can do it, you probably can!

clean inside and under your fridge/freezer more often!

never underestimate the power that you have ... you can often do more than you think you can.

this was also a good reminder to me that it's not always what you can see that's the problem, sometimes it's hidden, in the places others can't see and even in the places you don't look.

is there a "stinky" area in your life? are you struggling with something that needs to be deep cleaned?

folks, let me tell you, that drip pan was YUCKY. it had some cracks in it, and it was most likely causing an odor to permeate into the fridge/freezer.

the same can be said of us. is there a hidden "yucky" part in you? 

we may think that it's well hidden, we may even hide it to ourselves, but it's still there, slowly getting worse, slowly creeping in to all we do, all we say, how we live.

it may be a secret sin, an addiction, something that we just know we shouldn't be doing, watching, reading, studying, participating in, it may be fear, anxiety & worry, but it's hidden, so what is it really hurting?

take it from my fridge {& my yucky tasting ice cubes} it will eventually affect more than just that hidden part of you. just like that yucky water didn't suddenly start to smell, the "yuck" will slowly permeate and affect other areas of your life. if unattended and unaddressed it will continue to ferment and affect your life and your relationships and all you do and all you are. it will affect your relationship with your family, your friends and most importantly, God.

but, the good news is, just as I was able to pull out that drip pan, clean it up and mend it, God can do the same for you!

won't you let Him do that for you today? let him have those hidden parts, let him wash them, and mend them and make you whole again!

who'd have thought ... my dirty fridge could teach me a heart lesson?

Lord, please remove anything "yucky" in my heart before it gets more stinky and starts to permeate other areas of my life. clean up those things that i keep well hidden, even from myself, and especially from others. help me to let You come in and clean up, so that my relationship with you can be squeaky clean. don't let the "odor" of hidden things permeate my life, my relationships and how i love others. show me the things i don't even see myself and help me to be honest about the things i know are there that aren't pleasing to you. forgive me of these hidden things {big or little}. "search me, o God, and know my heart! try me and know my thoughts! and see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting" {psalm 139:23 & 24} amen.