I had forgotten how time consuming it is to put up corn! I remember watching my Grandmother doing this many years ago, and now I can respect the process so much more. The three of us worked the entire afternoon, and I came away with about 20 quart size freezer bags of corn total. And half of it was for my sister! It was worth it though, and very enjoyable to spend the afternoon with my grandparents. I don't get to do that nearly often enough.
By the end of the afternoon it had begun to rain. Wait, rain is an understatement. Full-fledged downpour is the phrase I'm looking for. My grandparents live about a 35 minute interstate drive away from my home now, so I knew when I left their house I would be driving through some bad weather. In fact, there was a thunderstorm warning for our area right about this time.
I've never been a nervous driver in bad weather, cautious yes, but never nervous. Believe me when I tell you this time I was nervous! The rain was lashing forcefully against my windshield; my poor little wipers could hardly keep up! Visibility was almost nonexistent, and I found myself using the red tail lights of the large truck in front of me to keep my bearings. Have you ever been in a storm like that? The kind where you can't even see the lines of the road right in front of you due to the gloom and the ferocious rain? I most certainly have, but that's a blog post for another day. It's during these times I just follow the tail lights and hope they're leading me in the right direction, or at least that they keep me on the road.
Though the speed limit on the interstate is 70 mph, the large truck with its guiding tail lights, the few cars in the lane beside me, and myself were all cruising at a rate of 35 mph, and doing our best to see and stay on the road. Thankfully the rain abated about 20 miles later, and everyone began to breathe a little deeper, loosen their grips on the steering wheel, and speed up. When the sky lightened and the rain became a steady drizzle, I noticed that the large truck I'd been following was a garbage truck.
The traffic had by now resumed its 70 mph speed, all except for me and the garbage truck. It was comfortable staying at 50 mph. I was comfortable with that too, for a while. I was glad to relax a little and get my bearings. Besides, it was safe behind the garbage truck. Comfortable. I had something concrete to lead me. Even if it was, well, garbage. However, soon I began watching the traffic driving by at a faster clip, arriving at their destinations sooner. Although the wipers on the other cars had slowed to a steady beat, mine were still furiously swiping away the spray from the wheels from the garbage truck. I began to realize, "Hey! This is miserable!" The garbage truck that all along I thought was getting me somewhere had actually become a hindrance to me arriving home. I checked my mirrors, changed lanes, and cruised by the truck. My wipers slowed, the rain was now a sprinkle, and I had an open road in front of me, with nothing blocking my vision.
While I was driving the rest of the way home I got to thinking that sometimes I live life like I drove behind that garbage truck. I live my life behind garbage-whatever that garbage may be. Sometimes it's an old sin, sometimes it's a grudge. It could be garbage like doubt, insecurity, self-pity, guilt, anger, jealousy, selfishness, bitterness, or hate. I live life behind garbage because it's comfortable, it was something that "guided" me when I was living in a storm. Usually it's not just one piece of garbage I'm grasping, but a whole truckload of stinky, useless, disease infested trash. When I finally passed the truck, I was able to see much more clearly the road ahead of me. The garbage truck had actually been restricting my view. Make no mistake, that garbage truck was leading me somewhere, but if I had followed it long enough, there is no telling where I would have ended up. At the bottom of a trash pit, probably.
I want to encourage you, and remind myself while I'm at it, to get out from behind that garbage truck! There is a life of clarity and freedom waiting. Don't let trash hold you back.
"It is for freedom that Christ set us free (through His death, resurrection, and forgiveness), therefore keep standing firm! Do not be slaves to things that hold you back.... The fruit of the Spirit (of God) is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. These things will not hold you back. They will set you free."
~Galatians 5:1, 22-23 (my own paraphrase)
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