Garbage.

It's everywhere. The streets are bordered with a line of paper, plastic, and other disregarded items no longer seen as valuable. The litter that is spread across this country is outrageous. I constantly see people throw things out car or bus windows. I see people throwing wrappers and empty bottles out of trains as they are traveling. Small children do it, old uncles do it, even Christians do it. I thought at least I'd see the Christian Indian people taking care of this planet, their beautiful country.

This country that is full of jungle hills and roaring waterfalls. The most beautiful flowers I have ever seen grow along roads, houses, and in the wild. There are colorful lizards, flashy birds, and handsome black-faced monkeys roaming the land of this country. Not to mention ancient elephants and ferociously beautiful tigers. Yet in all corners and crevices of the cities and jungles of this country there is garbage. There are street dogs that can be terrifying but are always annoying and scavenging the garbage for tidbits of food someone may have thrown out. The cows that also roam the streets eat the garbage, I cannot imagine that is a very good diet for them, let alone good for the people who eventually may eat those cows like the Muslims and Christians who eat beef.

It is a very difficult thing for me to see littering everywhere I turn. You think sometimes that if you ignore it it's okay, but you can't. There is also so much of it that one person could not possibly make a difference by picking up some garbage here or there (not to mention it's dangerous). I remember sometimes at home while going for a walk or a run I'd make a vow to pick up any trash I see during my run. I would end up only finding 2-3 things maybe. But if I did that here I would need an entire dumpster, and that is no exaggeration. If I tried to pick up all the trash on my 7 minute walk from my house to Cafe Coffee Day I would need at least one entire dumpster. I mean those big square ones that are behind restaurants and at apartment complexes.

My life is full of a lot of garbage. Small, small things here and there thrown into the landscape of my life. Small things that are beginning to pile up and smell and make my life something ugly. I cannot just throw it out because I don't want it to cause anyone else ugliness or pain or frustration. Just as others' garbage in India causes me pain and frustration. But I must dispose of my garbage in the correct way. The way that will guarantee it won't come back and it won't cause others to stumble. I must give it away to the one person who welcomes my trash because it not only humbles me, but frees me to see more of the beauty that He has created my life to be. Garbage is not always garbage at first. It's a delicious bag of chips, or an awesome new CD we've been waiting for. It is a dress we simply cannot live without or a pair of shoes that are not only hot but in a color everyone else wishes they had! It's that new cell phone or iPod that was the latest and greatest when you got it! But after time, and always after some time, they get old, they become useless, they become outdated and they become garbage. And now I'm left with all this piled up trash that must be removed and re-organized. Some of it is still good and has just been used for the wrong purpose and therefore rendered useless. I must clean out my heart, my head, and my house. Remove the things that make life more difficult where it does not need to be difficult. Cleaning in itself is not easy and can be frustrating, but it needs to be done. No one should ever say that following Jesus will make my life shiny, clean, and easy, because my life is far from that, and so was His.

I must get going and start the cleaning process and pack it all up and give it to Him because he cares for me. He will fill my soon empty spaces with things that I actually need and will help me grow. Things that will be challenging, but good. Things that won't be easy, but needed. Things I might downright dislike, but necessary. And I look forward to it! I just finished deep-cleaning my kitchen, and let me tell you it wasn't fun, easy, or exciting, but now that I'm done it looks so awesome and the ants' numbers have fallen considerably! I haven't seen a cockroach in weeks! It's all worth it in the end.

and I am throwing all my thoughts away
and I'm destroying every bet I've made
and I am joining all my thoughts to you
and I'm preparing every part for you