Long ago, three crosses stood atop the hill. Today, three crosses stand on the street we reside- an empty house, an overflowing dumpster and a discarded couch.
The dilapidated structure now houses only rats and cats, seems to sag with each new rock thrown at the windows and the lawn has grown into a short forest of weeds. The dumpster bubbles over like a toxic cauldron as non-tenants accost it with their bulky refuse. The couch, once a comfortable respite in someone’s living room, has been stripped of its cushions and been left to die by the side of the road like the Good Samaritan in our children’s Bible stories.
After too many days of personal complaining that “even dumpsters are stolen nowadays as those too lazy to properly dispose of their waste…” and “I really should call for that couch to be picked up…” and too many days running off kids playing Break-the-Window…It dawns on me that these three eyesores are not a bane but a blessing.
Enlisting my husband's help, we begin with the dumpster. Pulling out the bulky items and sweeping up the mess, we make use of the cardboard in our garden. Setting the dumpster straight again and close the lid. I call Varner Brothers and schedule a pick up of the couch. Blessedly, since the couch has mysteriously made its way from curbside to actual street, all liability allows them to pick it up the following “Big Item Day.” The house remains abandoned and looks like a toothless jack-o-lantern without a smile. However, former rock throwers are now helping clean up the yard.
Similar to those crosses of long ago, these three crosses remind me that I share in the burdens of my family, community, my state, my world. Every moment offers opportunity to help or hinder…make a difference or add to an oppressive environment. I can grumble and gossip or I can smile and help. I can look the other way and expect others to do or I can roll up my sleeves and get busy. I can complain or I can show compassion. Every day I am afforded opportunity to magnify the problem or partake in the solution. Today, this moment, I can do as Gandhi asked and “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”