A Trip To The Town Dump Lesson 6/7/2020

Good Morning,

I am blessed to be drinking a cup of Door County Inn Keepers Blend Coffee and  to have two Springer Spaniels asleep on my feet.

Psalm 51:10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 

Proverbs 4:23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

Yesterday I had to make a trip to the town dump to rid our garage of a pile of cardboard that has collected when the dump was closed due to the Covid Pandemic that caused the closure of many services. It is no doubt that as we stayed at home and had supplies shipped in we accumulated a lot of shipping boxes. Yesterday was the day to flatten them or cut them up so they could be taken to the dump and go into the dumpster to be recycled.

So off I went in our truck laden with enough cardboard to make the trip very worthwhile. I arrived  to the dump and as I expected the dump was very busy. Lots of cars and trucks were being emptied of refuse into the appropriate dumpsters. I actually had to wait in line to get rid of our old boxes. While sitting in the truck I just watched people dump the items they had brought to get rid of. I noticed this. As people were tossing things into the dumpsters many of them were smiling and willing to help others unload their junk.  As things were tossed away, I didn't see anyone jump into a dumpster and retrieve anything they threw away. For many people it seemed that they were happy to be getting rid of items.

Soon it was my turn to toss my cargo and it was actually more than I had thought it was. As I started to unload ,a young lady who was waiting to feed the cardboard monster asked if I wanted  a hand. Helping me just made the line move quicker, but I also appreciated the help. People were leaving the dump after discarding the loads they had hauled in. They were smiling.

From what I observed, I thought of this lesson. Rene and I were getting rid of items that had filled the garage and our basement. Sooner or later mildew would have set in on the boxes and eventually some mold vapors would stink up the garage and basement. It was time to remove them from the house. I felt good about it.

Friends the lesson deepens now. What do you hold within your heart that takes up space that love and compassion could fill? Do you have an old hurt or a satchel of anger or bitterness that fills your heart? Has it started to mildew your response to life or disable your heart from beating strong for the God that loves you? Maybe something came along in your life that filled you with disappointment?

Many will attend church today in beautiful buildings or in schools used for as a church. Maybe you will worship from home. I want to suggest, wherever you worship today you use it as the dumping ground for hurt, anger, bitterness, disappointments and doubt. Pray and ask God to help you to do so. He is always willing to help you clean our hearts, the house where He lives. Just think about it God will labor with us to clean His house in our hearts. Then friends, don't jump back into the dumpster and retrieve the garbage that weighs you down. Pray for strength to walk away and never look back.

Lesson from the dump. Leave it where you threw it away.

God bless.

Marty