Monday, January 14, 2013

DOWN IN THE DUMP


No, not down in the DUMPS – but literally, down in the dump!

One of the fun little challenges up here in the mountains is the fact that we have to "bus" our own trash.  (Well, to be honest, it's "The Hub" – not "we").

So, about once every two weeks or so, he makes the trek down to the dump.  It's about a 10-minute drive out of town – which is easy to do right now, but might provide a little more fun when we get ***snow*** up here - (yes, I wrote this before the last flurries of fun...)

One day he asked if I wanted to accompany him.

Well, sure, why not.

My sons actually remodeled a home up here about 6 years ago, and that involved several (many, a bunch, tons) of trips to the dump.  I never made the traveling team on that.

But, I've always been a little curious about the dump.

I had visions of those pictures I've seen on TV.  You know, a huge landfill of stratified refuse, with a bulldozer moving all the muck around.  I had visions of alleyways between the towers of rotting…well, rotting everything.  

And oh, I could only imagine the smell!

But, curiosity got the better of me, and so I hopped in the car for the dump-dumping extravaganza.

The first thing I learned is that our dump is more accurately called a "transfer station" – which I figured was just a politically correct way of saying "smelly, disgusting pile of trash."  You know, kinda like how I call my (dyed) gray hair – pigment-challenged follicles.

So, armed with a new bottle of waterless soap, I jumped in the car.

Soon we turned off the main road onto the side road to the "transfer station."

A winding road took us far into the mountains.  This made sense to me.  I figured the longish drive was to keep the smell away from the more populated areas.

As we turned the corner, I caught my first glimpse of the dump.

And got the shock of my life!

There before me lay a circular area (like a parking lot) full of dumpsters all lined up side by side.

What?!?

No landfill?  No towers of trash?  No smell???

Nope.

Just one very well-organized place to leave your junk.  Dumpsters labeled "Ashes" – "Normal Trash" – "Recyclables" – "Cardboard" – "Metal" – bigger dumpsters for "Bulky Items" – and one for "Electronic Waste."  Also a place in the back for "Green Waste" (branches and leaves and such).

I was astonished.

It was so…well, so un-trashy.

Yes, I get it now, I thought to myself.  Here we "transfer" our trash to the dumpsters, and then someone else "transfers" it to…well, actually I don't know where – must be a landfill somewhere else!

No mess, no hassle.

(A sidenote here:  Do you guys that live somewhere else in the country have Waste Management?  I'm not kidding – "The Hub" and I have traveled in the western United States a lot, and all we seem to see is Waste Management dumpsters.  I seriously think these people have a monopoly on trash).

I looked at "The Hub" with wide-open eyes.  And then, with a smile, I said, "Can I come here again?" 

It was just so easy.

And you can bring ALL of your stuff here.  No rules.  

Down below where my parents live, the city has a limit on how many cans you're allowed to put at the curb.  Where we used to live, we could ONLY use the trashcans provided by…yes, you guessed it, Waste Management.  AND, you couldn't fill them heavier than 50 pounds.  AND, if you wanted to get rid of anything else, like a crummy couch or mattress, or something bulky like that – you had to schedule an appointment for pick-up.  And you were only allowed to do that like twice in a year.

Up here, the sky's the limit.

It almost makes me want to be more "trashy"wait, that didn't quite sound right…

Well, I'm sure you're wondering where I'm going with all of this.  I'm hoping this is an amusing little story – but you know that I'm always looking for that *God lesson* in life.

Here's what I got thinking about.

Lots of times I look at my life and it seems like a hodge-podge of junk. Useless feelings, crumpled up thoughts, discarded goals, rotting problems – my own little pile of trash.  

Sometimes I get out a bulldozer and move things around a little bit – but the stinky piles still remain.

What a mess, I often think to myself.  What a mess.

Lord, I often feel like a dump.

But does HE see me that way?

Oh no!  

In His Sovereignty, He has created a well-organized "transfer station."

His blood, my sin.  His death, my life.  His resurrection, my eternity.

It's a good deal.

No rules.  There are no limits to the refuse I can leave at the curb for Him to take care of.  And He doesn't care how I "can" it – it can come in tears or in anger.  No limit to the "poundage" of my junk.  And those bulky things? The BIG stuff? 

Yup, He can handle that too.  (And not just twice a year).

Yes, the sky's the limit.

In gratitude for His perfect "waste management," I look at Jesus with a wide-open heart, and say with a smile, "Can I come here again?"


Are you "dumping" your trash at the foot of the Cross?


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Linked today with:
Joan at SHARING HIS BEAUTY
Michelle at HEAR IT ON SUNDAY, USE IT ON MONDAY
Tracy at WINSOME WEDNESDAY
Charlotte at SPIRITUAL SUNDAYS


BLOG = "Blessedly Leaning On God!"

16 comments:

  1. You're one masterful storyteller Sharon. You had me imagining the piles of trash and stinky smell only to be amazed that wasn't you found at all. Which is just like things in our own lives. What we think is messy and can't manage to clean up, God sure can. Have a great week.

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  2. I'm so grateful that God accepts my trash! He has a wonderful way of cleaning me up, too! Great story, Sharon =)

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  3. Hi Sharon,

    As usual brilliant you have such a way of putting things over. We have trash collected, but can also visit the dump, just like you describe, just recently it has been visited several times. I should probably visit the other dump you mention, more often, but it is a path I have trod, deposited them at the foot of the cross, but sometimes the temptation to take some back, overtakes.

    But keep visiting I will.

    God Bless - Nita

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  4. Oh gosh, Sharon; I hope you have a chance to go to a real dump sometime. I'm serious. Its not that bad with the smell. When we lived in Montana; we had trash pickup but we could take big things to the dump and if you lived in the city, it was free to "dump". There's something so freeing to stand at the foot where you dump your stuff and just dump it.

    On the other hand, I am so glad that God provided us a way to dump our sins!!

    betty

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  5. Hi Sharon, such a cute post, the dump indeed. Lol! Says alot about us and our preconceived ideas about people, places and things. Great post and thank you for linking up, God bless
    Tracy

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  6. Man, this is good! What a great way go from the dump to God. Too often we carry our garbage around with us, when we could so easily let God take out the garbage!

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  7. Great post! We just were forced to switch trash companies because our former company went bankrupt :( so, it was rather nice to hear a "good side" to a trash story!

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  8. I loved reading this Sharon. Your sense of humor makes me laugh out loud at some points of your story. The dumpsters are really a neat (yes, neat literally too) idea. I would imagine that that's how USA makes everything so orderly, organized, and everything else good -- well not here where I live. You can read stories of Smokey Mountain, a place in the suburbs of Manila that is a trash place, it literally smokes from the chemical reaction going on underneath all the mountains and mountains of trash. And yes, there are poor people living right there - sorting through the trash and trying to make a living out of trash finds. Loved your analogy too... but really, the story was good enough for me even without the spiritual connection. I loved connecting with you today, as I have not really been active in blog land the past few months. Joined Facebook in August 2012... and somehow, being connected there with friends and loved ones somehow decreases the urgency for me to connect with them through my blog. But this year, I will go back to more active blogging. See you around again soon!

    Have a beautiful and meaningful 2013 ahead of you.

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  9. Yes I am dumping...a lot these days, and so glad I can.
    We just recently had a discussion on the dump...my son's were talking about it after their home constructions and their trip there...the contrast to the dump one son experienced in Cambodia, where the children live in the dump

    great post

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  10. Love this post, Ms. Sharon! Yes, we have got to give him our treasures and our trash! So grateful He takes it all and carries it all for me! Love you-

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  11. What a wonderful analogy! And yes, I too have Waste Management and they are WONDERFUL! They take everything and no hassles (unlike a previous company we once upon a time had :) ). Thanks for a lovely and intriguing visit.

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  12. This was a fun post to read! You have talent. :)

    I am so thankful that I don't have to take care of my own "junk", that He has already handled it. The thought that no matter how much I continue to bring to him, He has already covered it, is very freeing indeed.

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  13. Waste management takes our trash. :-) Great analogy--I, too, am so thankful for God's waste management!

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  14. What a wonderful about thetrash in our lives. I live the thought. Skies is the limit:)
    Dropping by from spiritual sundays. My entry is from" willyouhearfromme.blogspot.com

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    Replies
    1. Wrong spelling:) i mean love the thought and wonderful post. Have a nice week end!

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"So [I] have been greatly encouraged in the midst of [my] troubles and suffering, dear brothers and sisters, because you have remained strong in your faith. It gives [me] new life to know that you are standing firm in the Lord. How [I] thank God for you!" (1 Thessalonians 3:7-9)

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