I was staying with my sister-in-law, Madelyn, while our husbands, who are brothers, were visiting with their other two brothers. “I will be back in a couple of hours,” she said as she put on her gloves and gathered up her large plastic bags.

Madelyn and Robin live approximately a mile from a busy highway and there is also a lot of traffic on their road. For the past several years Madelyn has made it her project to keep the litter picked up from the side of the road. She does this as her part in keeping the environment and the part of the city they live in clean and free of litter. As I watched her start up the road, I left for an appointment and to do some shopping.

A couple of hours later I arrived back at Madelyn’s house and she was just returning from her task. Her face was flushed, she was tired, and her plastic bags were full but the satisfaction she received from her work made it worthwhile. She told me about some of the things she had picked up along the road. There was a large assortment of items. “It is amazing,” she said, “what some people will throw from their cars to the side of the road.” She had even found a checkbook. She was going to contact the person whose name was on the checks to see if it had been lost. (Later she found that it had been lost by a young woman, who was very glad to get it back.) Listening to her made me wonder what people are thinking when they throw garbage from their cars. Can’t they wait a few minutes until they find a trash can?

Madelyn picks up only a small area but what a difference it makes. After she picks up the trash the road looks so nice and clean. Unfortunately, in a few days, there is litter again thrown out. It makes her sad to see it and she knows that the job will have to be done again. She picks up about the same amount each time she makes the trip up and down the road. Each time she has the faint hope that not as much litter will need to be picked up

I thought how much this reminds me of the way God acts in our lives. He picks up the trash and litter in our lives and makes us clean. Unfortunately, we keep putting, and we allow others to put, the trash and litter back in our lives. It makes Him sad but God keeps coming back, hoping that we will somehow see that things would be so much better if we would just keep the trash out of our lives. Wouldn’t it be great if we would do that? It would make all the difference in the world.

Laura Young copyright 2003 Lyoung7990@aol.com

I am a retired secretary and the wife of a retired minister. I discovered a love of writing since I retired. My children say they enjoy hearing about my life when I was young and many of my stories to them are about that time. I am lucky to have a great family, including in-laws. I have had two stories (The Hill and A Christmas Story)on 2theheart.