I know you are all looking at this title and thinking, “What in the world is she talking about this for?” Well, I always pray that God will use every opportunity around me to show me something in his Word, something that I need to see at that very moment. I like to call these “teachable moments from my Savior”. That very thing happened one day outside of one of my favorite places…Starbucks! I off work this particular day so I tried to schedule as many things and errands as I could since “free” time is hard to come by. I had my “to do” list in hand and was successfully hopping from errand to errand and found that I had about 45 minutes till my next appointment. It was such a beautiful day that I decided to take those minutes and sit outside of my little coffee house with a cup of delicious coffee and bask in the beautiful sunlight that my Lord had placed in the sky! I picked out a table that was placed where I could see all the beauty around me and enjoy the warm sunshine. It was perfect! As I sat there a few minutes, I began to notice a very unpleasant odor. How could this be? This was my time to enjoy the sunshine and drink my wonderfully brewed cup of coffee but how could I do this with that pungent odor?
About that time I saw a lady pull up in a little golf cart and came over to a trash can nearby. The trashcan was overflowing. Ah! The source of the stench! She pulled the bag out and began sorting through it. (She did have gloves on!) I thought to myself, “How can she do this?” I was starting to feel nauseous for her, but she, with a stronger stomach than me, pulled out all the newspapers and put them in a separate bag and then tied up the rest of the trash. She took the nasty trash out to the cart and came bag with a fresh, clean bag. It already started to smell better out there, but she didn’t stop with a clean bag. She came back over with a cloth and cleaned the outside of the garbage can, emptied the cigarettes out of the top ashtray and when she was done the whole things sparkled. Yes! It sure did! She took something so smelly and disgusting and made it look like a masterpiece, and she did it without flinching. She had pride in what she had done, even knowing that tomorrow she would have to do it all over again.
My Lord showed me again, just how much he loves me. “From a dirty old trashcan he showed you all that?” You ask. Well, He reminded me that I am that dirty old trashcan and he loves me so much that he removed that stinky filth and sin from my life and made me clean again. But he doesn’t stop there; everyday he wipes all the smudges off and makes me shine for him and he does so with great pride evening knowing that he will have to do it all again tomorrow. Why? Because I am his child, his masterpiece. A masterpiece, ready to live for him! He takes great pride in me, in all of us, his children!
Psalm 51:7 “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.”
Psalm 32:1 “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.”
May we all be thankful for “waste removal” this week! Were it not for that great sacrifice, we would live a hopeless life. Now we are free to live that beautiful, fragrant life that can bring honor and glory to our Master! My prayer is to share that great sacrifice this week to those in need of a Savior.
Have a blessed week!
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