So, what is it about trash cans and small, teeny tiny objects that wind up in their belly? And I know what you’re thinking…everything is waste eventually, right? We throw away broken toys, empty canned goods, and worn out shoes. But what about something that should never see the inside of a waste basket?
I choked on a round piece of chocolate candy when I was a kid and was the grateful recipient of the Heimlich maneuver. Oh, sweet oxygen. Taking a deep breath never felt as good as it did that day. Any who, because of that little incident, I got it in my head that I could not swallow a pill. I even managed to choke on cereal when I thought about the swallowing process. So, fast forward a couple of years to a very bad ache of some sort and Mom hands me a pill and tells me to swallow it. I tried, I really did. I stood in front of the mirror, siking myself up to get that ridiculously small medicine down my throat. In the end, I was afraid to tell my mother that I was a wimp and chose to deal with the ache and trash the pill. But wait – I couldn’t just throw it away at the house. Mom might find it and know how pitiful I was. So, I did what any logical, crazy teenager would do. I shoved the minuscule pill into my pocket, where it stayed until lunch and then disposed of it in the high school trash can where more than 2,000 students/faculty attended. There was NO way Mom would find that pill there!
And then there’s today…
As I’m walking the dog, I notice a small rock, basically a pebble, in my yard. Of course I pick it up and chuck it into the road. Otherwise, the next time the grass is cut, that rock will shoot out of the lawn mower and pelt my kid in the head or go right through the window, shattering the TV as it goes. Wouldn’t you have gotten it out of your yard too? BUT, then the thoughts start coming. What if someone drives over that rock and it punctures his tire? Or what if that sweet lady down the street goes for a walk and isn’t looking where she’s stepping and turns her ankle, causing her to fall head-first to the hard pavement, scrapping her palms & face, ultimately breaking an arm or worse – a hip?! With those thoughts controlling my mind, I did what any logical, crazy, middle-aged woman would do. I deposited the dog back inside the house, marched all the way down my driveway and into the street, picked up that pebble (which was seconds earlier the size of a cantaloupe), and dropped it into the trash can. Because putting it back into our yard was not an option…pelting kid, smashing window, and shattering TV remember?!
So what are we throwing away that isn’t really trash? Talents, family time, confidence and faith in the Lord, laughter, memories, … ? I’m sure the list is similar as well as different for everyone. It’s so easy to let our minds wonder and doubt, at least it is for me. You may be a lot better at the whole, I got this under control thing. Kuddos if you are. I struggle daily with thinking: “I can’t do that. That’s too hard. Let someone else figure it out. Are you sure, God? That’s where You want that? I bet it would do better over there.”
I need to let God dispose of what needs disposing and trust Him when He says, “Take your medicine, Kathy. It will make you better.”
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised…But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. ~Hebrews 10: 35-36, 39
Thanks for stopping by! ;)
I choked on a round piece of chocolate candy when I was a kid and was the grateful recipient of the Heimlich maneuver. Oh, sweet oxygen. Taking a deep breath never felt as good as it did that day. Any who, because of that little incident, I got it in my head that I could not swallow a pill. I even managed to choke on cereal when I thought about the swallowing process. So, fast forward a couple of years to a very bad ache of some sort and Mom hands me a pill and tells me to swallow it. I tried, I really did. I stood in front of the mirror, siking myself up to get that ridiculously small medicine down my throat. In the end, I was afraid to tell my mother that I was a wimp and chose to deal with the ache and trash the pill. But wait – I couldn’t just throw it away at the house. Mom might find it and know how pitiful I was. So, I did what any logical, crazy teenager would do. I shoved the minuscule pill into my pocket, where it stayed until lunch and then disposed of it in the high school trash can where more than 2,000 students/faculty attended. There was NO way Mom would find that pill there!
And then there’s today…
As I’m walking the dog, I notice a small rock, basically a pebble, in my yard. Of course I pick it up and chuck it into the road. Otherwise, the next time the grass is cut, that rock will shoot out of the lawn mower and pelt my kid in the head or go right through the window, shattering the TV as it goes. Wouldn’t you have gotten it out of your yard too? BUT, then the thoughts start coming. What if someone drives over that rock and it punctures his tire? Or what if that sweet lady down the street goes for a walk and isn’t looking where she’s stepping and turns her ankle, causing her to fall head-first to the hard pavement, scrapping her palms & face, ultimately breaking an arm or worse – a hip?! With those thoughts controlling my mind, I did what any logical, crazy, middle-aged woman would do. I deposited the dog back inside the house, marched all the way down my driveway and into the street, picked up that pebble (which was seconds earlier the size of a cantaloupe), and dropped it into the trash can. Because putting it back into our yard was not an option…pelting kid, smashing window, and shattering TV remember?!
So what are we throwing away that isn’t really trash? Talents, family time, confidence and faith in the Lord, laughter, memories, … ? I’m sure the list is similar as well as different for everyone. It’s so easy to let our minds wonder and doubt, at least it is for me. You may be a lot better at the whole, I got this under control thing. Kuddos if you are. I struggle daily with thinking: “I can’t do that. That’s too hard. Let someone else figure it out. Are you sure, God? That’s where You want that? I bet it would do better over there.”
I need to let God dispose of what needs disposing and trust Him when He says, “Take your medicine, Kathy. It will make you better.”
So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised…But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved. ~Hebrews 10: 35-36, 39
Thanks for stopping by! ;)