My lofty ideals of what this work means and how its done has been stirred up since arriving in Boston. The bright colorful balloon (the representation of the lofty sense) has now been tied down with a string (now having something to tie it to reality). Maybe the string is more like twine. Something rough around the edges but strong, plain, rather unassuming.
It all started when I visited Rose, an aging Cameroonian from my congregation. My pastor and I drove over to her apartment as Pastor Eric does on a weekly basis. He takes Rose to the local grocery store where she recycles soda cans and plastic bottles for deposits. In Massachusetts, you can return recyclable cans and bottles, via sorting machine, for 5 cents each, 10 cents if you're lucky. Our church collects bottles and cans so that Rose, with the help of Pastor Eric, can recycle them and get the deposits back. She can't even go do this herself since she doesn't have a car. The worst part of it all is that the $10 Rose gets back in deposits is her spending money and how she affords paying everyday expenses. That day Rose got $18- her excitement seemed to indicate that this was more than normal. $18.
There's something about witnessing a woman return bottles for 5 cents each, so that she can have some money in her wallet, that really humbles you. Brought down to Earth.
I've also been struggling with a sense of humdrum and routine that has left me feeling pretty uninspired. One of my roommates even noticed me sending out those vibes and told me that if I hadn't brought it up, she was going to ask me about it. So, I'm planning to start some workshops in preparation for the garden that will hopefully be making its debut in the spring.
This coming week I am going to buy compost bins from the Natick Dept. of Public Works and I'm going to schedule a compost workshop for the congregation and the folks at the food pantry we partner with.
One of the days this week I got to spend some quality time with me, myself, and I along with boxes and boxes of donations that people have dropped off. Going through a box of kindly donated food that then turns out to be mostly or all expired brings you back to reality. People go through their cabinets and what they find, that has been pushed to the way back and has been forgotten about, gets donated to us. Friday I found Tilex someone donated that expired in 1997. Its a few years shy of being a decade past its prime! People donate expired food, I guess thinking that the folks that come to the pantry will eat it because its food... "and that's what they need right?" is their logic. Brought down to Earth.
(Little PSA here: If you wouldn't eat, don't donate it)
It also hurt to see so much food being thrown out because it was expired. We threw out boxes of food. The amount of food waste just at the pantry alone makes me cringe but that's not even a sliver of 1% that gets wasted in this country annually. I want to do my part to make sure that even expired food has its place, likely in the compost we'll be using for the garden. Brought down to Earth.
I think God is challenging me to take ownership of my remaining time as a YAV and really shake up my little world. He's presented me with all of these issues that weigh heavily on my heart and mind. Now I need to do something about it.
James 2:18 18 But
someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith
apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith.
This post is dedicated to Gus Deeds who lives on forever in my heart and in my memories. Gus, you were a brilliant musician and a real gentleman. I hope you have found peace and were welcomed home into God's loving arms. "The banjo makes me vain." <3
2 Chronicles 31:21 21 And
every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God, and in
accordance with the law and the commandments, to seek his God, he did
with all his heart; and he prospered.
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