Waste

It was an unpleasant walk yesterday.  It was raining, windy and cold.  I don't mind walking in the rain when it is warm, but when it is cold?  Well, that's a different story.

On our walk we always try to see animals, strange things, etc.  The kids have even started to make me pick up garbage that has been thrown on the ground.  This has been happening since Earth Day.  Aidan is now very aware of the environment and what we should be doing to help it.  We carry the garbage home and recycle it or throw it in our garbage: "Because it is good for the earth", explains Aidan.  I am glad that he is learning not to litter and to clean up!

Yesterday, as we rounded a corner, as it was pouring down rain, what do Emma and I see?  Someone watering their lawn.  Yes, you heard me correctly.  Watering the lawn when it is raining.  Now I am not blaming anyone in this entry.  I am sure that their sprinkler was on a timer.  Maybe they are on vacation.  Whatever the reason, no blame is being placed here.

What came to mind is how much waste we have in our own lives.  We waste our time on things that don't matter.  We waste our worry when God is and always will be in complete control.  We waste our money and energy on things of this world, and not on things that matter for eternity.

Yesterday I spent sometime researching and reading about the Oil Spill in the Gulf.  It breaks my heart to see all of that oil affecting animals, people and more importantly the environment.  But what breaks my heart even more is that people are starting to waste their time on worry, bad mouthing, panic and fear.  I am sure it breaks God's heart, too. 

What He really wants from us is a relationship with Him.  He would love it if everyone prayed about what to do, instead of worrying.  God cares about what happens in His world.  He created it, after all.  Just as He created you and me.  He already knows what this catastrophy will mean for us years down the road.  I know that the future seems unclear to us, but I am so glad that God already knows what is ahead.

I am refusing to waste my time worrying.  Instead I will rest in the knowledge that God knows what the future holds.  I will trust in that.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

 “And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?

“So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.

Seek the Kingdom of God[a] above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

“So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

-Matthew 6:25-24

(New Living Translation)