When computers became more common, a frequent saying was “Garbage in, garbage out” – meaning that a computer would produce information based on what was entered into it. This saying was adapted to our daily lives as children were reminded that watching television programs with negativity could produce negativity in their own lives and adults were reminded that a diet of junk food would produce health problems.
However, we are often guilty of taking in garbage in our lives, but not letting it out. It becomes much like the garbage bags that we fill up and leave for the weekly pick-up at the curb. We fill up the bags and move them around from point A to point B without ever emptying the bags. We wake up with life garbage and then tote it around with us all day and finally go to bed with it at night. As with household garbage, our life garbage also begins to smell bad, create mental, physical, and spiritual health hazards, and gets heavier and heavier to tote.
Life garbage is basically the mental and emotional junk that we take in, dwell on, and let fester for long periods of our lives, even for many years or a lifetime. Life garbage are things like misunderstandings, miscommunication, resentment, jealously, anger, and unforgiveness. Unfortunately, our Southern tendency to keep up appearances of gentility and Christian living can influence us to push the garbage down into the deep recesses of our souls and spirits. The deeper we push the garbage, the harder it will be to get out.
But life garbage can be cleaned out. We can clear up misunderstandings and miscommunication by choosing to communicate. Often that communication will pave the way to heal the negative feelings such as anger and jealousy. We can choose to forgive – that first step of choice can help us to truly let it go.
