Bread For The Journey

This spring I spent some enjoyable time in a local garden greenhouse selecting my bedding plants. One of my selections was the beautiful Martha Washington geranium pictured above.
Given a choice of visiting a fragrant flower nursery or a 'somewhat less than fragrant'  garbage dump, I know the garden nursery is an easy choice , yet none of us can avoid the necessity of a garbage dump somewhere near where we live.  Gratefully, we put our garbage curbside, knowing the garbage truck will come  pick it up and take it away!

Some time ago a friend forwarded this thought provoking e-mail circular to me.
While some of you may have already read it, I want to share it with those who haven't.
Even for those of us who have seen it before , reading it again  to reaffirm  its attitude-changing perspective  is a good idea!

Law of the Garbage Truck One day I hopped in a taxi and we took off for the airport. We were driving in the right lane when suddenly a black car jumped out of a parking space  right in front of us.  My taxi driver slammed on his brakes, skidded, and missed the other car by just inches!  The driver of the other car whipped his head around and started yelling at us.  My taxi driver just smiled and waved at the guy. And I mean, he was really friendly. So I asked, 'Why did you just do that?  This guy almost ruined your car and sent us to the hospital!' This is when my taxi driver taught me what I now call,  'The Law of the Garbage Truck.' He explained that many people are like garbage trucks. They run around full of garbage, full of frustration, full of anger, and full of disappointment. As their garbage piles up, they need a place to dump it and sometimes they'll dump it on you. Don't take it personally. Just smile, wave, wish them well, and move on.  Don't take their garbage and spread it to other people at work, at home, or on the streets. The bottom line is that successful people do not let garbage trucks take over their day.  Life's too short to wake up in the morning with regrets,  so   ... Love the people who treat you right.  Pray for the ones who don't.  Life is ten percent what you make it and  ninety percent how you take it!  Have a blessed, garbage-free day! *********** In Jesus' words,  what should our over riding attitude be to  those we encounter in our day?       "But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you?   For even sinners love those who love them.  And if you do good to those who do good to you ,  what credit is that to you?   For even sinners do the same. Therefore , be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful!"        Luke 6:32,33,36