Taking out the trash

Last week as I was taking out the trash, I decided to put it in my van and drive it up my driveway on my way to meet a friend for dinner. After dinner I opened my car to the most horrific smell. Agh!!! Oh no I didn’t! I forgot to take the trash out of the car. The bad thing was that we were 45 minutes from my house and I still had to go to Home Depot before I could go home. Well needless to say, by the time I left Home Depot the smell was pretty rank and if that wasn’t enough, I had to buy mulch. Mmmmmm, the smell of rotten trash mixed with cypress. Arghhhh. I thought I would be sick right then and there. I rolled down the windows and tried not to gag as I started the trek home.

Then a peculiar thing happened. I realized that I no longer smelled the trash. Oh it was still there all right but I couldn’t smell it anymore. Then it hit me like a brick! This is exactly how sin is. It creeps into our lives and before we know it, things that used to disgust us no longer bother us – television shows, music, movies…and the list goes on. In that moment, I prayed and asked the Lord to help me not become desensitized to sin; I want to hate the things He hates.

I got home that night and would you believe that I drove into my driveway, got out of my car, unlocked my house and BAM! It hit me. That blasted trash was still in my car. Frustrated, I trekked back to the car and took it back up the hill to the place it deserved – THE CAN!

The next day when I got in the car, I was assaulted by the worst odor! While the trash was gone, its scent lingered. My daughter and her friend complained about it for quite some time. Again, God reminded me of my sin. Even when I confess my sin and find forgiveness, the consequences remain. Oh may God have mercy on us and teach us to walk in the light and leave behind our trash! I jokingly call my daughter the “trash patrol” and ask her to help me not to do this again. Likewise, I am asking the Holy Spirit to be the trash patrol in my life and show me what I need to toss out!