Skip to main content

Joel and The Garbage Man

This morning, I took the garbage out.  It is not something I normally do, but I had convinced Joel that the garbage men would not be coming today because there had been President's day on Monday.  When there is a holiday at the start of the work week, they always come a day late.  But as Hannah and I were in her room about to read stories, we heard their distinctive sound coming down our lane.  I took the garbage out and saw them there, dutifully putting garbage into to their truck in order to haul it away and maybe one day make a ski hill out of it.

Well, Joel didn't take President's day off either.  When this was pointed out he mentioned that he has more in common with the garbage man than he thought.  He later expanded by saying they both take out the garbage and work on President's day.  But I think the similarities go on beyond that. 

You see Joel is a pastor, he deals with people's unwanted stuff all the time, whether it's emotions, events, thoughts, or actions, people come to Joel to help them get rid of things so that they can be filled up with the God stuff.  The garbage man takes my refuse so that I can go out and buy more refuse to keep my house at a happy equality of stuff.

Joel does a lot of stuff that you don't think about but you expect.  You see the job of the garbage man is not to just pick up my trash and put it in the truck, which is the part I see, but he also takes it somewhere and does something with it and how many times the garbage man does that on any given day, I'm not really sure.  Joel spends a lot of time with Jesus dropping off and picking up, much more that what I can see on Sunday mornings when he preachs or on Wednesday when he teaches. 

Joel finds treasure in people's junk.  Joel and all pastors for that matter have been given the ability to help people go through their stuff and find the treasures that God has placed there, and sometimes it's the stuff that they don't really want to keep around or they've never learned how it fits into their life, so they are willing to chuck it.  There are pains from our past that God has been working on with us, for us, so that we can let his Glory shine through.  I know for me, part of that has been past sexual abuse that God has somehow redeemed and allowed me to use for His glory.  I also know that God did mighty work through my depression.  Something I would never have wished for and for a while was desparate to get rid of, but then God showed me how much pain and brokenness there was in the Christian world in regards to dealing with mental illness.  I am thankful for that time in my life and for the things that God taught me.  It is something that I would never have thought would be a treasure or that I would want to keep a memory of, but it continues to heal me in new ways. 

Joel doesn't take a lot of holidays, but he also doesn't take his work with him during Sabbaths.  I kid you not, that man has developed the gift of being able to step away so that God can place his rest within Joel's soul.  It is amazing to see it happen.  I feel sure that garbage men don't sit around on their days off wondering if this is going to be the week that old man furgus decides to clean out his garage. 

Joel has a quiet job that is easy to over look, unless it's not getting done.  Did you see the Simpson's episode where they stopped taking Homer's trash? It piled up fast.  So even though I don't say thank you nearly enough to my garbage men or Joel, I am grateful that both have said yes to the work they do. 

So there you have, Joel and The Garbage Man.  Take a moment this week and thank your pastor and your garbage man or anyone that goes unnoticed.
Labels:

Comments

  1. Lisa SFebruary 23, 2011 at 8:36 PM

    Thank you Pastor Joel and Mr. Garbage Man- I would be in big trouble without either of you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Tina PuntigamFebruary 23, 2011 at 9:51 PM

    I'd be in a world of hurt with out them. I'd be on hoarders and have a ton of dogs running wild in my yard.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sweet Caroline by Kelda Poynot

  First off, my copy of Sweet Caroline  (aff link) is not a gifted review book, I spent my well earned Amazon No-Rush Rewards money on this book. Second of all, this is not my standard close door kind of romance. Third of all, this is a really fun read. Caroline is a hard working young lady that is doing all that she can to make ends meet and to get her graduate degree. Part of that work is renting out the room above her garage. When she answers the phone of an unknown number, believing it's a future tenant, she has no idea how much her life is about to change.  The young man on the other end of that call, Hashim, is tall, dark, and mysterious in all the right ways. The story quickly moves from the girl next door falling for a stranger to a fight for their lives. And in true real life fashion, those fights aren't just with external enemies but the ones we carry within.  It's an entertaining story of Caroline and Hashim, discovering their love for each other and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Loving Disagreement by Kathy Khang and Matt Mikalatos

  If you're human, which I'm assuming you are if you found your way here, there will come a moment in your life when you're right and they're wrong and you're going to have to not win because the relationship is more important than your rightness It might be over where to go to dinner, which type of coat to wear for the weather, what ever it may be, you're going to find yourself there. Khang and Mikalatos have got together and written Loving Disagreement for that exact moment, especially if that exact moment isn't occurring with a loved one but with someone you encountered on the internet or maybe the break room at work, the where and who don't really matter because we can be loving towards anyone, even when we're not in relationship with the offending person. The book uses the concept of the fruit of the spirit to go through different ways to handle conflict. Khang and Mikalatos take turns writing the meat of each section but there's a quite enj...
Post a Comment
Read more

Tasty Tuesday: Loaded Baked Potato Soup

  I've had loaded baked potato soup on the menu most of the month of November, not really knowing when I was going to make it. Last night was the night. I started with this recipe from Betty Crocker as an idea but as I saw that it served 15 and looked at the various quantities while I cooked, some things changed, and wanted to share the final recipe here so you can enjoy it and I won't forget it.  Loaded Baked Potato Soup serves 3 with seconds and a serving left over 1/2 package of bacon 1 small onion chopped 3 cups chicken broth (I use Better Than Boullion) 2 large baking potatoes, peeled, cubed 2 tbsp butter 2 heaping tbsp all-purpose flour 2 cups milk divided 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2teaspoon freshly ground pepper A generous helping of sour cream 4 oz sharp Cheddar cheese shredded (half a block) separated 2 sliced green onions separated In skillet, cook bacon over medium heat 6 to 7 minutes or until crisp; drain on paper towels. Crumble bacon; set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons ...
Post a Comment
Read more