The other side of the Garbage!

I’ve been putting my garbage bins out every week for collection and watched as it gets trashed into the garbage truck.
Some trucks have signs that say, ‘sort it before you bin it.’ Meaning, make sure you’ve sorted out what’s general rubbish, garden waste or recycle before you put them in the bins that get picked up.

Now I can’t say I adhere fully to that (am still trying). At times it gets confusing separating what goes where. But, all the same, I need to sort them out properly.
I saw a documentary showing a big rubbish dump yard where all the garbages get emptied. But what breaks my heart is the people that were faithfully sorting out the debris and identifying treasures in the different garbage trucks as they come in turns and offload the garbages in this stinking smelly landfill. I watched with tears in my eyes at the people who despite the smell find it worth digging into the pile of rubbish looking for only what they’ve trained their eyes to see, and their hearts to recognise as valuables.

I concluded that in every rubbish there is something priceless for someone.

What is that garbage situation you’re facing and can’t see anything worth giving a second glance? Most of us are so quick to throw away the troubles and circumstances in our lives into the trash because we’ve tagged them useless. And don’t get me wrong, garbage truly belongs in the bins, but there are situations and experiences in life that leaves us broken yet offer golden life nuggets and wisdom for the next journey before we bin them.

I threw away my over a decade of garbage experience labelling it as a mess and worthless. In my eyes, they were for the landfill. However, fifteen years later, God in His overwhelming grace dig them up from the rubbish dump yard, and with a touch of His GRACE presented them to me as a testimony in the form of a book ‘Beyond the Shadows’ which is now impacting lives and changing stories.

My lessons learnt: Not all of our rubbish is for the general waste bin. Some of them are for the recycle bin. So before you bin it, sort it out properly and put it in the RIGHT bin label. Who knows what treasure they’ll produce in the future?

Can I encourage you not to be too quick to put away your garbage, whatever that represents in your life right now? Give is another thoughtful examination and allow God to speak to you. Who knows what kind of testimony is hiding there waiting for discovery?
Testimonies are priceless gems buried in our trials, mess, afflictions, brokenness, life garbages, and circumstances.

What is that garbage in your life? Sort it out PROPERLY before you bin it.

Comments are welcome.

Photo by Tom Fisk from Pexels