SO MUCH MORE THAN A TRASH PICKER

A few days at the cottage is always so peaceful and relaxing.  But, during this time, I was determined to clear out things that had collected over the past 10+ years.  One day, we took every item out of the garage, swept out the accumulated dirt, threw away broken, useless items, empty boxes and containers and put back those things that were still useful in a neat, orderly fashion.  The pile of discarded items sat at the curb, patiently waiting for Monday’s garbage pickup when a truck driving slowly down the road, stopped.   A “trash picker” had spied something in the pile of rubbish that he wanted.  I watched from the window as an older gentleman walked to my pile of garbage and picked up a rusty old lawn chair, threw it in the back of his truck and drove away.

My heart was stirred and my brain began to whrrr, have I become a “Spiritual Trash Picker?”  Do I sometimes just wander slowly down the road, hoping that someone has cast aside a blessing that will still have a little value?  WHY?  Perhaps I feel unworthy to receive my own personal blessings from God or maybe it is just too much effort to press past the obstacles and into the Glory.  I can pick up a discarded nugget of truth here or there, wait to worship in an atmosphere created by another’s fervent praise and even fill my vessel with the spill-over from my neighbor’s overflowing blessing.  WAIT A MINUTE!!!!!  I don’t want to become just another TRASH PICKER; I want “FIRST-HAND” blessings from God.

It may take a little more effort than just riding down the Road of Life.  Sure there will be obstacles in the way that I will have to go around or stop and remove, it may require some “sweat and tears” and involve asking, searching, praying and  waiting to receive, but the results will be my personal “Daily Benefits”, my own “New Mercies,” the “Abundant Blessings” God has reserved just for me. 

You have been called to be so much more than a “Spiritual Trash Picker.”  You are His precious child, one of the Redeemed; He knows you by name and has blessings handpicked for you, straight from the Father’s heart. 

Matthew 7:11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!