Nothing Wasted… Hello weekend readers. Yesterday January ended and we moved the calendar to February. I have a question for all of us: what did you waste or didn’t waste in January? OK, if you think I am out of my mind (which many of you already suspect), I am musing on this topic about what we waste. The reason? I watched an interesting PBS show that took me literally around the world to see waste—and I mean waste that if it could be picked up it would devour a small country! How did we get so wasteful?

Claire McGarry is a wonderful author and teacher. Her book, which I recommend, Grace In Tension, is a powerful road-map for living in tough times. She also, because of her daughter, has become a champion of learning NOT to be wasteful. Here is her short story that has changed their family and it might just change us as well…

“My ten-year-old daughter, Jocelyn, started composting last summer. We don’t really have the yard for it, so she started out small and used the large, foil-lined box her Goldfish snacks come in as her collection bin. Whenever I tried to throw away any refuse from dinner prep, she’d stop me and ask if she could have it: fruit peels, vegetable trimmings, eggshells, coffee grounds—she cared for that pile of garbage as if it were gold—until it became so. Ultimately, she created a fertilizer, so rich my flowers bloomed with vibrant colors and hearty stems. Our family and all those on the block took notice of those flowers and our garden that could feed most of the block even though it was small. They “bought into it” and our neighborhood is so clean, so filled with all kinds of veggies, fruits, trees–our city gave us a commendation! And even more it brought us together in deeper friendship and caring for one another.”

I find that so cool and then I have to confess how easy it is to consume, just throw it away, consume again, throw it away—every day! So much of that waste hurts our environment and the toxins hurt us and all of God’s creation. Garbage stinks-who wants it, yet think of the garbage that we collect in our lives? (outside of the trash we put in the trash-can). What are we keeping that we should get rid of? What are we tossing that we need to hang on to, like: mistakes, stress, challenges, health, family squabbles, finances, work, depression, etc.

This Scripture from Ezekiel 47:12 [GNT] reminds us of God’s provision and healing: “On each bank of the stream all kinds of trees will grow to provide food. Their leaves will never wither, and they will never stop bearing fruit. They will have fresh fruit every month, because they are watered by the stream that flows from the Temple. The trees will provide food, and their leaves will be used for healing people.”

Like Jocelyn who took garbage and made it fruitful, God collects the garbage of our lives and does the same because Jesus cares for us like we are gold! Like the leaves of the fruit trees in the Scripture above, Jesus can use what I wish I could discard but just quite can’t get it done. In fact, Jesus takes that garbage and turns it into healing for us and nurtures us.

In other words, we could say “with Jesus, nothing is wasted!” Like the composting garden, do we tend to grow even from difficult circumstances or do we stay in our garbage and lament our refuse. Claire has an idea for us: “Dear friends, begin a small box of compost and watch your refuse turn into fertilizer that is rich and life-giving; or journal your process from lament to trusting in Jesus. No matter which way you want to make the right changes, always trust the process. When we do, our lives will blossom and we will be enriched.” I agree, AMEN.