garbage

by

Not The Prettiest Time Of Year But I Will Take It

It’s not the prettiest time of year, but it is a welcomed time of year just the same. 

not the prettiest time of year but I will take it

The other day signalled the first day of spring, but I didn’t even realize it because I was more focussed on the dull and dirty landscape. 

Still lining parking lots were rows of snow piled up almost like a screen to keep you from seeing what was in the parking lot next to it. Not that long ago these piles of snow looked more like a mountain range. But with all the melting, the snow piles quickly resembled rolling hills. 

To add to the look, the snow that is left is no longer white but rather grey and filled with gravel and sand to give it an old, rugged appearance.

That’s the start of spring and it’s not very appealing. The grass is still all matted down from the pressure of the snow that has now melted away above it. Our streets have mounds of sand and grime just to add to the dingy appearance of the neighbourhoods.

I remember two years ago, when winter was over, there was so much sand on our church parking lot that we could have created a beach with it all!

It’s also right at the beginning of spring when you also realize how bad we all are at putting garbage in garbage cans. Strewn along curbs and sitting on the lawns, there are cups and paper and lids, plastic of all kinds. 

I take pride in throwing my garbage into waste cans like I’m making a three point shot on a basketball court. But if I miss, I don’t leave my trash; I go pick it up and drop into the bin.

However, it seems like many people assumed that if they missed the garbage can, their trash would melt like the snow by the end of winter. Well, it didn’t melt. And now we are left with lawn decorations that are not fitting at any time of year.

We all know what the signs of spring are – trees beginning to bud, flower sprouts poking ever so slightly out of the ground. And, of course, grass beginning to look like it is alive once more. 

But on the first day of spring, none of these signs are there. There is no hint of what is to come, just the dull, dirty reminder of what we’ve come through.

We welcome this time of year just the same. We do it, not for what it is, but for what will come after it. 

It’s that in between stage, not the prettiest time of year.

You know when your child gets to the stage where their baby teeth are falling out and the new ones aren’t all the way in. And they have started to get a little gangly and their facial features are starting to change? We know that soon their beauty will emerge again, but for right now they are not in their prettiest stage. 

This stage of spring will not last long. And I, for one, am happy about it because I know what’s on the way.

Here’s the thing: You may be going through a not-so-pleasant time in your life. In my experience, those times don’t last forever. One thing I do is pray to God who loves me. I ask Him to bring the change that will be best for me … and God always does.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What good thing is right around the corner from what you are going through now?  Leave your questions and comments below.

Subscribe to my blog and receive posts like this one to your email twice weekly. 

by

New Year; No Time For New Goals

Right at the end of last year I set some new goals for this year. I try to do that every year.

However, three weeks into this new year, I’m finding that I’ve had little time to get any traction towards my new goals.

I know I have a whole year to complete them, so there is no real panic yet. But the problem is I’m having a hard time finding time to schedule my goals into my calendar.

I’ve been so busy that I’ve had to set aside scheduling my goals in favour of taking care of the present, urgent events that have been before me.

It’s kind of like I have a full bottle and I’m trying to squeeze something more into it. Every time I take the lid off to try, the stuff in the bottle is pushing back.

My wife, Lily, saw a jaw-dropping sight the other day while driving. While making a turn, she noticed that she couldn’t see through the windows of an oncoming car.

I know some cars have tinted windows and you can’t see in them, let alone through them, but there was no tint on the windows of this rust bucket!

As she got closer, she thought there was paper on the windows. But that wasn’t exactly what it was.

When she got really close, what she realized she was looking at was garbage! – McDonald’s cups and wrappers, all kinds of paper and garbage were stuffed into this car. There was garbage from the floor to the roof and only one spot free for the driver.

It was truly a sight she will not forget.

That’s a little how I feel … I don’t have any room in my life to even schedule in my goals.

Something has to give in order for me to offer some attention to my new goals … before they become nothing more than broken New Year’s resolutions.

The car my wife saw was a menace on the road, not only to others but to the driver himself.

There were two mirrors that were rendered useless. First there was the right side mirror. The driver had no idea who would be coming up on his right side. If he changed lanes, he might slam his car right into another vehicle.

The rearview mirror was also blocked by garbage. He couldn’t see what was behind him. His ability to make adjustments to his driving to stay safe on the road was greatly reduced.

That’s where I think I am right now. If I was to add some new goals to my schedule, there would be things coming up on me that I wouldn’t be able to deal with. My life is so full, I really don’t have the resources to make adjustments to deal with the issues and circumstances that come up.

For me to schedule in my new goals, I need to cut out something so that I still have room in my life for the unplanned, the unexpected, and to be able to enjoy a pace of life that is healthy, not frantic.

My new goals are great, but before I schedule them I have to do some chucking of the old.

Here’s the thing: To grow in Christ, it’s not just a matter of taking on more of His characteristics; it’s also a matter of shedding some of your old, unwanted characteristics as well.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What garbage in your life do you need to throw out? Leave your comments below.

by

Why Fans Aren’t Worth Much – Part 1

I’ve come to the conclusion that sports fans are much like “recycle trash” in the big picture of sport. Recycle trash is more precious or valuable that regular trash, but it’s still trash.

recycling

Garbage that is destined for one of the many bins we have in our households is treated with slightly more respect than straight garbage.

In our city we have grey boxes for paper and cardboard, blue boxes for cans and plastic, and green bins for food refuse. What’s left just gets tossed into the garbage can.

The recycle trash we treat with some care. We either fold it up nicely, rinse it off or out, and collect it in a special container before we put it in the bin.

Regular trash doesn’t get any of that consideration. It just gets tossed.

In sports, the teams like the fans to come to games and cheer them on. And because of that, teams care for them in certain ways.

In hockey the players skate around the rink at the end of the game with their sticks in the air, paying tribute to the fans who stuck with them and served them with their collective noise.

The treatment is not unlike styrofoam that held a few pounds of ground beef. We take care to rinse off the meat residue, making the styrofoam all clean, and then place it orderly in the blue or grey box – frankly, I can’t remember which box it goes in. But we stack it up in one of those boxes.

Teams will also show up to community events to raise money, show they care, sign autographs – it’s pretty touching at times. The fans feel like they are cardboard that hasn’t been crushed but rather neatly flattened, then folded to the proper size to fit nicely into the grey bin.

Owners of teams will extend perks, incentives and deals to the fans to encourage them to watch games in large arenas, all with the goal of supporting the fans and making them feel special.

I don’t know how many times I’ve taken plastic bags and made sure they are clean and put them all in a big plastic bag and placed them in the blue bin, with the paper and cardboard – go figure that one!

It’s just nice to have all those bags together in one place … and you can really stuff a lot of little bags in one big bag.

Sports fans are just like recycle trash. But they’re still considered trash. It shouldn’t be. The fans are the ones that make it possible to fill the arenas. The fans are the ones that put money in the owners’ pockets and, in turn, into the players’ hands.

The fans make it possible for someone to do something they are good at and love professionally. Without the fans, those guys would be playing at 11 pm in broken-down arenas, with their wives already home in bed, just like the rest of us.

Sports fans aren’t really recycle trash; they’re just treated as such by the sports teams they cheer for. To be continued . . .

Here’s the thing:  As much as we think life is all about us, it is really all about God. We are here to give Him glory in all that we do. However, many of us think life – our life – is all about us, so we treat God like He is secondary. … Not recycle trash – no, much better than that – we honour Him at times. But I wonder if He feels like He’s being treated like recycle trash … just a little better than regular garbage.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: How may you have made God feel like recycle trash?

I’d love to hear from you; you can leave a comment below.