Greener Around Me

During our visit last evening with son, John, wife, Kim, and their offspring, they spoke of a fitness campaign that is being promoted at their church. Enrollment required stating how much time one spends in spiritual fitness, physical fitness, and emotional fitness. That awakened the guilt within me. I do my best to get in the spiritual and the emotional areas of fitness to a more or lesser degree but physical? Yuk. I don't like exercise for the sake of exercise. As a matter of fact....I loathe exercise for the sake of exercise. It seems so self indulging to me. There should be a greater purpose for anything I do. Now, I know one can shoot holes into my thinking but I am a product of a father that has a purpose to everything he does and taught me to do the same.

I woke at six fifteen, took a quick shower and donned my walking clothes. I must. I must...I go back to the cardiologist in a short month and I should show some progress in physical care. I stuck my nose out the door to test the weather and decided my fleece sweatshirt would do if I covered my ears and hands so back inside to get ear muffs and some gloves.

As I strolled down the country road at a comfortable clip, I noticed tons of refuse on the sides of the road. I generally don't notice that as I fly by in my car. Just yesterday we had a conversation about caring for the earth and my eyes were allowing something in my head that disturbed me. WHY? Why do people think they can use the sides of the road for their trash can? I was frustrated. I began tossing around an idea. I could carry a plastic grocery bag with me each morning and pick up trash until my bag got full.......if I walk for several days or weeks, I could have the road side and the edge of my neighbors yards trash free and beautiful. I made a plan of attack and decided where I would start. I thought I would begin in my close neighborhood...from the corner home which would account for about eight homes, four on each side of the road.

I turned around about a half mile down the road (don't want to start too much at once, you know) and continued my thoughts concerning a greener and more pleasant world around me. No lie, at the fourth house on the north side of the street lying in the grass was a bunch of garbage including a KFC plastic bag. My purpose now had tools. I picked up the dinner plate and sauce boxes, stuffed them in the bag, picked up the receipt and found the name of the guilty. (I knew him...he is a high school student) Then I walked back and forth in front of the homes and picked up smashed cans, water bottles, pieces of broken car parts, straws, cigarrette boxes, etc. By the time I arrived home, the bag was bulging and the roadside of my neighbors yards were clean. What a great feeling. It all took me less than forty five minutes.

At our Bible study the other night, a strong feeling came over me that God could use us to make a difference. When I stuffed the garbage bag into our refuse container, I smiled as I saw that God had used me to make a difference......a very small one.......but a difference at that.

From now on when I take a walk, I will stuff a plastic grocery bag in my pocket and continue to clean up the space around me. I thought it was really neat, though, how God had provided that bag for me. He knows I don't like to waste an opportunity. I praise Him this morning and always.