waking this morning i looked out and realized that it was recycle day. littered up and down my street were the beautiful bright blue extra large containers filled with recyclable goods to be turned back into usable resources. it made me think of how much trash we all collect over a week’s period of time that literally people can fill both a full trash container that has wheels on it as well as a recycle container to match. at least that’s the way it works in my neighborhood.
we never think though about not emptying out the trash as it fills up. perhaps some do not think enough about the environment to fill the recycle bin well enough, but hey we are making progress. yet in life it seems so different.
we often times will allow trash to build up over time like hoarders and never deal with the problems and issues in our own hearts and minds. we simply sweep it under the rug, push it into a closet, or set it in the junk drawers of our lives. what kind of trash. trash like rejection, hurt, disappointment, and basically offenses we’ve caused or have taken on.
as these build they can lead to an overall sense of resentment, bitterness, and regret about our lives and others. holding our own life’s environment in such a way leads to a toxic life. un-forgiveness towards ourselves for our past and to others for what they have done to us is a killer in our soul. just like we have weekly trash build up that must be recycled, so also we must in our own lives deal with the trash that will constantly try to build up in our lives. letting go of our past and letting others go free of the debt they owe us by what they may have done to us.
one method i’ve found helpful is a very simple process. when i’ve felt hurt over something or rejected and it doesn’t seem to just roll off my back in a day or so i sometimes do the following. at least in my head but more effective it is on paper. in yoda lingo. 
1. write it down – something short or long. what is the hurt and who is responsible.
2. pray it through – ask God to forgive us for holding the grudge and forgive those who’ve hurt us. ask him to heal that area of our heart.
3. rip it up – literally! rip up the piece of paper. like ripping up a paid bill, no longer needed.
4. throw it far - trash it! the Bible says that God forgives us and cast our sins as far as the east is from the west. in the same way we are loved, we are to love others.
if we were the offender and regret is the feeling it may also simply be good to go back and say those simple yet hard words. “I’m sorry, I was wrong.”
simple i know. but very often it has been just what i needed to get rid of some of the trash of rejection, regret, hurt, disappointment, and insert your word here: ____________ cleaned up in my own life.
recycle our environment,
kameron
