I have always hated being alone. Now I have moments when I like to be left alone to rest, and get some things done, but I hate being alone. Really, I believe that most of us a like this because God placed within us the need to have relationships with others.
As a kid growing up I had certain responsibilities (you could call them chores) to fulfill as a member of my family. Being the youngest, I probably got the easiest assignments, but nonetheless, I did have certain regular tasks to complete each week. One of these tasks was the responsibility for the household garbage to be put out for the garbage collector to take twice a week.
Now that I am grown and have my own kids, I don't really think that putting the garbage out for the trash man was really that big of job. When I was a kid, it seemed like a huge burden. Well, maybe not huge, but it was more like a regular inconvenience. The trash man came very early on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Therefore, I had to make sure that the garbage was out on the curb the evening before.
For those of you who are younger, it was not until I was in high school that we actually had rubber trashcans on wheels like my kids get to use. Garbage cans we metal (some kind of aluminum I believe) and did not have wheels. They were heavy without having anything in them, but when filled up the were extremely hard to move. The older the cans got, the more dents and dings they had. They would lose some of their shape as they were tossed and banged around by the trash collectors and myself. And if you didn't remember to keep the lid on tight, they would fill up with rain water. Then try moving them.
I hated taking out the trash, and like everyone else who faces these kinds of things regularly, I would wait until the very last minute to do it. Thursday evenings were the worst. I don't know why, but I would always wait until the very last moment to do the trash. My mom would start in on me about getting it done, but I don't think she realized the importance of not missing an episode of "Magnum P.I."
Tom Sellek was so cool driving around in that red Ferrari, living in Hawaii as the guest of some super rich guy (who we never saw). There was Higgins and his doberman pinschers, Zeus and Apollo. T.C. was always flying people places in his helicopter and Rick who worked at the King Kamehameha Club always had connections. Everyone I knew watched Magnum P.I.
So by the time Magnum P.I. was over, it would be 9 p.m. and dark outside. I would have put off my job as long as possible and now I had to get it done. The trashcans were kept front corner of the backyard. Did I mention that it was dark by now? The front of the house was well lit at night, and there was a small light on the back porch that kept the backyard from being too dark, but the side of the house was pitch black.
I don't know if had a super active imagination or what, but the small stretch from the backyard to the front curb was huge to me. There was not one single shimmer of light, and my mind would race with all kinds of imagined things that were in those shadows. I remember getting the trashcan to the back fence gate, slowly opening the gate and then dragging the trashcan as fast as was possible through the dark. Though nothing ever really was in the dark waiting to grab me, my mind was full of terrors that lurked in the darkness just waiting to pounce.
When the Psalmist says, "I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:5-6), I can imagine him having to make it through the darkness on the side of my childhood home. Though it was my own fault that I had to go through this scary ritual of taking out the trash twice a week, the most reassuring moment was when I was done and went back inside my home. There was plenty of light, safety and security in the presence of my father.
That is a lesson worth remembering. You see we often end up in dark, scary places in our lives. We find ourselves all alone and fear sets in, but we need to remember that God, our Father will always be on our side to remove all fear. No need to be scarred and alone.
As a kid growing up I had certain responsibilities (you could call them chores) to fulfill as a member of my family. Being the youngest, I probably got the easiest assignments, but nonetheless, I did have certain regular tasks to complete each week. One of these tasks was the responsibility for the household garbage to be put out for the garbage collector to take twice a week.
Now that I am grown and have my own kids, I don't really think that putting the garbage out for the trash man was really that big of job. When I was a kid, it seemed like a huge burden. Well, maybe not huge, but it was more like a regular inconvenience. The trash man came very early on Tuesday and Friday mornings. Therefore, I had to make sure that the garbage was out on the curb the evening before.
For those of you who are younger, it was not until I was in high school that we actually had rubber trashcans on wheels like my kids get to use. Garbage cans we metal (some kind of aluminum I believe) and did not have wheels. They were heavy without having anything in them, but when filled up the were extremely hard to move. The older the cans got, the more dents and dings they had. They would lose some of their shape as they were tossed and banged around by the trash collectors and myself. And if you didn't remember to keep the lid on tight, they would fill up with rain water. Then try moving them.
I hated taking out the trash, and like everyone else who faces these kinds of things regularly, I would wait until the very last minute to do it. Thursday evenings were the worst. I don't know why, but I would always wait until the very last moment to do the trash. My mom would start in on me about getting it done, but I don't think she realized the importance of not missing an episode of "Magnum P.I."
Tom Sellek was so cool driving around in that red Ferrari, living in Hawaii as the guest of some super rich guy (who we never saw). There was Higgins and his doberman pinschers, Zeus and Apollo. T.C. was always flying people places in his helicopter and Rick who worked at the King Kamehameha Club always had connections. Everyone I knew watched Magnum P.I.
So by the time Magnum P.I. was over, it would be 9 p.m. and dark outside. I would have put off my job as long as possible and now I had to get it done. The trashcans were kept front corner of the backyard. Did I mention that it was dark by now? The front of the house was well lit at night, and there was a small light on the back porch that kept the backyard from being too dark, but the side of the house was pitch black.
I don't know if had a super active imagination or what, but the small stretch from the backyard to the front curb was huge to me. There was not one single shimmer of light, and my mind would race with all kinds of imagined things that were in those shadows. I remember getting the trashcan to the back fence gate, slowly opening the gate and then dragging the trashcan as fast as was possible through the dark. Though nothing ever really was in the dark waiting to grab me, my mind was full of terrors that lurked in the darkness just waiting to pounce.
When the Psalmist says, "I called on the Lord in distress; the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place. The Lord is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 118:5-6), I can imagine him having to make it through the darkness on the side of my childhood home. Though it was my own fault that I had to go through this scary ritual of taking out the trash twice a week, the most reassuring moment was when I was done and went back inside my home. There was plenty of light, safety and security in the presence of my father.
That is a lesson worth remembering. You see we often end up in dark, scary places in our lives. We find ourselves all alone and fear sets in, but we need to remember that God, our Father will always be on our side to remove all fear. No need to be scarred and alone.
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