Today I got to sleep in, that is if you count 7:00am sleeping in. Usually if I'm going to run it has to be about 5:00 in the morning. That way I can log my miles and still be home before my family has to get up. November 8th is election day in Kentucky and school is cancelled. In order for my children to be supervised and not run around like wild hooligans, I had to take a day off (My wife has a big to-do at her work today). Taking a day off for me means getting a few extra winks and running in daylight.
I like leaving the house at sunrise. Rarely do I get a chance to soak up my surroundings. Running in pitch black does have its draw backs, all you can see is just a few steps in front of you or silhouettes under street lights. Today, however, I could take in everything around me. What stood out to me was a little disappointing. Trash. Trash everywhere. Garbage of all shapes and sizes. It totally amazed me at all the crap on the side of the road, on the sidewalk, in peoples yards. I'm not a litter bug and it drives me crazy if someone tosses stuff out of their car window. When I see that happen I want to go all "Mad Max" on them and blow up their car (in a Christian kind of way).
Looking at all the items started to depress me. You see all the usual stuff that you expect to see; cigarette packs, pop cans, paper, plastic bottles, DQ moolate cups. Then I noticed that some of this "junk" really wasn't "junk" at all. It was still good. Still useful. Hey! There is a funnel. I don't have a funnel, I need it. That iPhone case looks brand new. Granted it does have a butterfly on it, but someone would like it. To bad I have a 3GS, it wont fit mine. A returnable Ale-8 bottle. What idiot would toss that? That's like throwing money away. Discarding things that still has value. What are these people thinking?
Everyday I come in contact with people that many would call "trash". Drug users, alcoholics, abusers, liars, cheaters, freaks, slackers of all shape and size enter and leave my life every minute of every day. A lot of times I get caught up in labelling these people as just objects. But they are living, breathing souls. Creations of God that people use and toss aside when they are finished with them. Many have been told since they were old enough to hear that they are worthless, useless, garbage. These people are not "junk" to be chucked out of the window when society deems them used up. They are human beings loved by a jealous God. And they are not just loved, but they are also sacred to him. Sacred. Holy. Full of potential and purpose.
One day my wife threw away a Barbie play box because it was ripped and dirty. I pulled it out of the trash can, cleaned it up and sold it for $30.00 on eBay. Everything has value, a Barbie play box, a funnel,....people.
It nice to know that what is one man's trash is God's treasure.
No comments:
Post a Comment