11 Aug 05 Garbage Day

Thursday is garbage day around here. The garbage truck rumbles down the street and picks up anything I can drag over to the sidewalk. Some days I really look forward to garbage day. It’s a challenge and an adventure seeing exactly what I can get into the garbage can or next to it by the curb. Maybe one day it will be an Olympic sport!

When we lived in California, my neighbor and I used to have competitions as to what we could fit into our garbage cans. I took apart our old dishwasher and fit the entire thing into our garbage can! When we built a fence project together we had to get rid of some concrete blocks. So we divided up the blocks between our garbage cans. That particular garbage day we hid inside waiting to hear the clunk of the chunks hitting inside the truck. I know what you’re thinking, I need to get out more often.

When we lived in Granolaville, Oregon (otherwise known as Eugene) we had to play by a whole new set of garbage rules. This is a place where you had to wash your items to be recycled. We would get notes all the time from the garbage / recycling team that our green bean cans still had green bean residue - this that, or the other. One day, I carried an extra yard garbage can out to the curb (one of those plastic ones) full of yard debris. They didn’t take it. Instead they left a note telling me that it was too heavy and that back injury was the number one cause of injury in the garbage profession. I’m thinking, “I carried the thing from the back yard to the curb. You’re telling me you can’t take it from there and dump it into the truck?”

Last night I set out the old pool (yes the new one is still holding water) on the curb. Well I didn’t actually set it out there. It was somewhat folded into a large box and I had to use the wagon to get it out to the curb. Our garbage technicians come early around here so I was anxious to see if the plastic vinyl mass was taken. The pool was taken as was an extra can full of yard debris and a contractor size plastic bag. These garbage guys are good, yes, but they take all the challenge and adventure out of garbage day!

Still, it’s pretty good feeling to set a bunch of junk / garbage on the curb one night and the next day it’s gone. We could use that kind of release for the other junk and garbage that accumulates in our life. As the Holy Spirit is doing some heart cleaning it sorts out the junk and the garbage in my life and sets it on the curb. All because Jesus is coming by tomorrow, as he does each week, to pick up and get rid of all my junk.