The Joy of Dung

This morning I took a shower in Lowes parking lot. Well not exactly in the parking lot. I actually took the shower in our RV that was parked in the parking lot. There were people walking by on their way to the store and there I was soaped up and getting refreshed (sorry if I grossed you out with that picture) . Now you may think that is just one more reason that you are glad you are not travcling around the US in an RV, but from my perspective that is life at its best. Being able to relax in the midst of no matter what is going on around you.

The power of perspective is especially evident when it comes to things like dung. Yes that is dung as in that which is referred to by children as number 2. Did you know that you can tell a lot about an animal by their dung. You can often tell what they ate and you can even tell what type of animal they are by simply looking at their dung. The same is actually true of people. When "dung happens" to them you can tell a lot about a person by the way they handle it. You can especially tell about their faith in God. When things go wrong do they fall apart, do they get anxious, do they get mad or do they (or do you) trust that God is able to bring good out of ALL things. Just what is your perspective about dung?

This afternoon we pulled into a parking lot in Oregon that was too small for us to turn around in. So we had to take the car off the tow dolly. The only problem was that the strap had come loose on one side and the car had actually gone over the front of the tow dolly and was on the verge of falling off. When tried to get it back on the tow dolly we scratched the door and made our predicament even worse. We ended up having to call a tow truck and Kathy and I were not happy with each other over the situation. As the tension begin to escalate I recognized that I was letting dung have its way in me instead of letting God use the dung for His greater purpose. Once I gained that perspective the whole thing became another part of our adventure and in the end everything worked out.

It is truly amazing what God can do with dung if we will just let Him have it and trust Him with it. That which seems to stink up our lives can actually become a great thing if we will bring it to Him. God actually reminds us of that in the midst of His creation. Did you know for instance that a compost pile of dung in people's gardens actually must be turned over to work best. As it mixes with oxygen in the air, it turns into something which can cause things to grow. Guess what is the optimum number of days you should let compost sit before you turn it and expose it to the air? 7 days. In a very real sense that explains what we have the chance to do every Sunday. On the 7th day we bring our dung before the Lord and expose it to the wind or the Spirit of God. As you do that He can take it and do something good in you that can cause great growth.

Well there is a lot more than can be said about dung. Pioneers used it for fuel. People in Africa use it to build houses and places of worship. I just want to encourage you not to miss out on the benefits of that which seems to be stinking up your life. God is always able to take it and use it for good if you will bring it to Him and trust Him in the midst of it. For there is nothing that He can not redeem if you will keep your life focused on Him.

Tomorrow we head down the coast of Oregon and are looking forward to the new things God has to reveal to us. Bless you!