I just let our dog Gibbs back in from his morning trek outside and the cold weather greeted me like a slap in the face. My Door County Maple Coffee just finished brewing and it is a welcome addition to my table.
On a weekly basis our household trash gets picked up from the curb in front of our home. During the week as everyone does, we have things that need to be thrown away. Those items are tossed into two different containers. One container is for garbage and the other is for things that can be recycled.
On the night before the trash is picked up, we walk these two containers to the curb and when we return the next day from work they are still there, but they have been emptied. The trash is gone. And gone for good. None of it is left in the trash containers. they are empty.
Now and then due to weather difficulties or when trash day falls on a holiday, we miss the pick up and disposal of our trash. We have to wait a day or two longer before the public works department can get to us.
Ephesians 4:31-32 New International Version (NIV)
31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Now once Rene and I throw something out, it stays thrown out. Friends, now and then we all accumulate trash of the heart, mind or soul. For instance if we hung on to the meat wrapper that encased our ground beef for too long without throwing it out, that rancid smell would permeate the house. To harbor trash of the heart and today we will focus on forgiveness, is a practice that will pollute the heart, mind and soul. It will eat at us from the inside out and soon enough it shows in our attitudes and our actions.
When something smells, it can leave the unpleasant odor on our clothing, or in our homes and it is difficult to remove it. The longer we wait to truly forgive someone makes it more and more difficult to remove the odor of hate and malice from our lives. Nothing seems to go right until we remove the stink of not forgiving from our life.
Friends, let's make today a day to forgive and forgive all the way, not holding on to any of the trash that needs to be tossed. You will feel better because you just stopped carrying a heavy weight hung around your heart.
Love to all,
Marty
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