Compost to Share

I used to have a compost pile in my backyard. We just dumped grass clippings, dead leaves, and any other organic waste together and waited for it to eventually decompose into humus—a crumbly black mixture, rich in nutrients, which could then be added to our soil as fertilizer. Or at least that was the plan. We didn’t know that you also had to add water and aerate the mixture regularly with a pitch fork. We were good at dumping yard waste on the pile. Along with grass clippings, weeds, and dead leaves, we would drag fallen tree branches onto the pile. This prevented us from mixing the compost, delaying the decomposition process by years. If we had shredded the wood into small pieces before adding it to the pile, we would have been able to use our yard scraps as fertilizer. Instead, our waste was wasted—we moved away from that house before our compost was usable.

Recently, I saw a post on Facebook that said: “Compost to Share.” What a generous offer! Someone had gone through the trouble of collecting all their organic waste, processing it into small pieces, watering it, mixing it for aeration, waiting for it to turn into useful humus, and now they were willing to share it with others.

We all have plenty of debris from our life experiences that can be composted and shared. Most rough situations we go through --our failures, poor choices, ignorance, carelessness—can turn us into useful humans. Just dumping it all into a big stinky pile is not enough. We have to process it, shred it, water it, mix it, and wait for it to turn into useful humus. Then this compost—these lessons in life--can fertilize our own growth…and maybe even help others.

The Woman at the Pool

The last time I was on vacation, I met a woman at the swimming pool who asked me about a vaccination scar on my thigh. She showed me a similar scar on her thigh and asked me where I got mine. It turned out she is from the Middle East, and they had the same childhood vaccinations as I had in my country of origin. So that became the conversation starter, and over the next hour, she shared her life story with me.

Mira (I’ve changed her name to protect her identity) had immigrated to the United States about 30 years ago with her husband and young children. Mira and her husband had liquidated all their assets from the old country and had brought it to the U.S. to start some sort of business. Shortly after they arrived, they met some fellow immigrants from their old country who seemed very helpful and friendly. These new friends convinced them to invest all of their money into a business that shortly divested Mira’s family of all their savings. Mira says she felt desperate and embarrassed at the same time. She couldn’t believe that she and her husband were duped by her own people and now couldn’t provide the basic needs for her two young children. One day, she needed to get diapers for her baby, but didn’t have enough money left for a whole pack. She took her two sons and went to the store anyway. On the way there, her older son (who was six at the time) found a scratch-off lotto ticket on the ground. He picked it up and told his mom that they should take it to the cashier at the convenience store and see if it was worth anything. It turned out to be worth $500. She explained to me that $500 was worth a lot of money 30 years ago, and her husband used it to start his own business which is still thriving today. This business has supported the family for the last three decades.

Now, here is where things start getting really interesting to me… After relating the above story to me in bits and pieces, over an hour (because we were still strangers who met by a swimming pool and every so often we took breaks to swim)—she ended the story praising, glorifying, and giving all the credit to God. As this was the first time she had mentioned anything relating to God, I was curious to know her faith background. I assumed she was a Muslim since she is from the Middle East—but I was reluctant to ask her such a personal question. I waited a bit longer and then just came out and asked her: “So, are you a Muslim?” She answered: “No, but I know a lot of Muslims.” At first, I thought that was a weird response…and then I realized that she thought I was a Muslim. It turned out that she was Christian too. Here we were, two brown-skinned women assuming common stereotypes about each other. We were both reluctant to talk about our faith, at the risk of offending the other. Yet, she couldn’t help but express how God had brought her thus far by grace.

This woman by the pool had taught me some great lessons: Don’t stereotype others based on your limited human perspective. Be open and transparent. Just share your life, give God the glory, and then wait for people to ask you about your faith.  

Millstones

My husband and I were having dinner at a Mexican restaurant the other day. There was a young man sitting with a group of his friends at a nearby table. His blue margarita arrived in an enormous fish bowl that he could wear around his neck. The rest of the patrons at the restaurant cheered him on as he posed for pictures with this enormous alcoholic drink.

The next morning, I randomly happened upon the following verse:

“Hard trials and temptations are bound to come, but too bad for whoever brings them on! Better to wear a millstone necklace and take a swim in the deep blue sea than give even one of these dear little ones a hard time!” (Luke 17:1-2 MSG)

I couldn’t help but remember the blue millstone tied around that young man’s neck from the night before. It was bound to bring on all sorts of trials, temptations, and bad choices.

I wondered what sort of millstones I am voluntarily hanging around my neck. What are the trials and temptations that I bring upon myself? I have a few bad habits in which I indulge. These indulgences slowly grow into dependencies, which in time become addictions that pull me down. I also have several hang-ups that I know are self-limiting. Yet instead of shaking off this restrictive yoke, I willingly carry it around. The worst part of this self-imposed bondage is that I might influence others to follow me into slavery. Most of us have someone who looks up to us, whether it be our kids, younger relatives, friends, coworkers, neighbors, or random strangers. Our indulgences may cause others who are watching to let their guard down and succumb to the same temptations. Our less-than- ideal choices could cause others to place heavy millstones around their necks as well. They might pass these negative traits onto their circle of influence, thus spreading the disease further and further.

What self-limiting behaviors or bad habits do you have that you would not want your children to emulate?

Turbulence

Recently, I was on a bumpy plane ride that made me feel queasy. As long as the plane was at a high altitude, the flight was smooth, but as soon as the plane dipped down into the cloud level or below, things got turbulent. Most pilots know to fly above the weather level of the atmosphere. Yet sometimes, because of airspace congestion, they may not have a choice.

During turbulent times in our lives, we too can aim for higher altitudes to stay above the fray. When people try to engage us in arguments, when we are disappointed that our plans didn’t work out, when we are struggling to make sense of nonsense—there is a higher place to which we can go.

As I release each of my concerns to God, I feel lighter. I trust God to take care of these things according to His design. I accept that the end result will probably be different than my expectations. I’m slowly lifted out of the turbulence and up to a higher level of peace.

An airplane can’t always stay at high altitudes. During take-off and landing, it’s forced to deal with the weather conditions. Similarly, we can’t always avoid turbulence in our lives either. Yet, with focused attention, we can pass through these emotions quickly and elevate our minds to a higher place.

Time-Sensitive Projects

My son thinks he has all the time in the world to accomplish his daily chores. I’m constantly reminding him not to waste daylight hours on indoor projects: “Get off the computer and go walk the dog, take the trash out, mow the grass…before it gets dark.” Like most young people, he doesn’t realize that time is a limited commodity that needs to be managed carefully.

I’m most productive in the mornings. By late afternoon my energy starts waning. I can still manage to do physical tasks, but my brain starts shutting down by 7 pm. So I’ve learned to cram as much as I can into the small window of time between 6 am to 11 am—my peak efficiency time slot.  

We all have tasks that are time-sensitive, light-sensitive—that are best done while we have the mental capacity, health, and vigor to accomplish them.

“We need to be energetically at work for the One who sent me here, working while the sun shines. When night falls, the workday is over. For as long as I am in the world, there is plenty of light. I am the world’s Light.” (John 9:3-5 MSG)

God has different tasks planned for each season of our lives. He shines his spotlight on specific areas—calling our attention to projects that He wants us to focus on. These are time-sensitive gigs. If we put off these assignments until we feel like doing them—until we feel ready to do them—often the peak time has passed and we no longer have the physical or mental prowess to do these tasks well.

There is a common saying among parents of young children: Delayed obedience is still disobedience. 

When we delay in obeying God’s instructions—when we put off doing what He has placed in our hearts, when we procrastinate and make excuses—we are essentially disobeying God.

Is Holiness Attainable?

Every year I make resolutions to strive for physical and mental health. I have yet to make a resolution to become holier. It’s not that I don’t value holiness; it’s just that I don’t think of it as an attainable goal. I mean, you can’t just decide to become holy…can you?

I’ve read many different accounts of what it means to be holy: dedicated or devoted to God, set apart for God’s purposes, spiritually pure...I like to think of holiness as the pinnacle of spiritual health. Just as there is a spectrum between physical or mental health and illness, there is a gradation between holiness and sinfulness. And just as we can allow our physical or mental health to deteriorate, we can also let our spiritual health degenerate.

“Don’t lazily slip back into those old grooves of evil, doing just what you feel like doing. You didn’t know any better then; you do now. As obedient children, let yourselves be pulled into a way of life shaped by God’s life, a life energetic and blazing with holiness. God said, “I am holy; you be holy.” (1 Peter 1:13-16 MSG)

Whether or not we reach the pinnacle of holiness, we can still move up towards it. Every step we take away from our sinful nature is progress. Every virtuous habit, every spiritual discipline raises us up and out of the mud pit. We were created to be holy, to be shaped by God’s life. Our Father wouldn’t set unreachable goals for us; thus holiness must be attainable. 

Deterioration

While many health issues are beyond our control, some are a direct result of our choices. Physical deterioration that results from weight gain, uncontrolled diabetes, alcohol or drug dependencies, eating disorders, inactivity, or exposure to harmful environmental factors are often preventable. In most cases, it is also possible to avoid abusive relationships, social isolation, or substance abuse which may lead to mental degradation. It’s really difficult to stand by and watch while a loved one deteriorates because of a preventable disease. Even though we would do anything in our power to stop the downward spiral, often there is very little we can do.

Those who suffer from preventable disorders usually have two ways of justifying their choices: It’s not a big deal, or, I can’t do anything about it. Both excuses fall under the category of denial.

Since there is a spectrum between wellness and illness, we might not notice the gradual downward slide. Most of us don’t have a person in our life who is objective, unbiased, caring, and also bold enough to get our attention when we are about to step into a sinkhole. And if we happen to have such a person, we might ignore her because she reminds us too much of our overly-controlling mom!

Fortunately, I have a few good friends who also happen to have good judgment. I routinely ask them to tell me when I’m slipping down that slippery slope towards self-destruction—and they have. I’m never really pleased to hear about it. I always feel a bit defensive. Yet, most of the time, they are just echoing what I already know to be true.

While the downhill slide was hardly noticeable, the climb back up takes so much effort and concentration. The progress is slow, and it’s easy to get discouraged. Yet, each arduous step up lifts us a little farther from the bottom of the dark pit. We are no longer deteriorating, but improving…no longer disintegrating, but rising.