I did a ridiculous thing today. Just when I think I can’t get any more daft, I reach another level. I’ve concluded that sometimes my head is so far ‘in my head’ that my environmental senses don’t work properly.
Bill asked me to post a really important piece of correspondence this morning. He drove me right up to the postbox at the garage.
Whistling merrily, I slotted the piece of mail through the opening and swivelled back to the car with a flourish.
‘Hilary! That’s not a post box, that’s the bin!!’
What???
Sure enough, I looked around, and that prized letter was, in fact, nestled comfortably on top of a pile of used coffee cups in a red waste bin.
Two yards to the right, the red post box gloated at me proudly, now reflecting the new rouge of my cheeks perfectly. Quick as a whippet, I glanced around sheepishly, fished the letter out (thankfully relatively unscathed) and deposited it in the right place.
Bill looked at me in utter disbelief as I slouched back into the car and slunk into my seat sheepishly.
I started to argue my case … ‘look – they were right beside each other … and they’re both red…’
And then we all started to laugh.
The girls’ giggles came first, closely followed by my belly chuckle and Bill’s wheezy wonder. No doubt Zoë went into school and told all her teachers that mummy posts her letters into the bin.
Well, it was a narrow escape, to be sure. Had Bill not been there to intercept, my important letter could have ended up in landfill – certainly not the place I intended it to end up!
But as I thought (and chuckled) about the whole thing, I realised there may be larger lessons to learn from this ridiculous mistake.
A landfill of gossip or a bank of loyalty?
We’ve all done this at some point, haven’t we? In a moment of distraction, we’ve shared something with someone in confidence, who inevitably spreads it and brings it to somewhere we didn’t want it to go.
Gossip is a landfill. It’s a place full of criticisms and superficial opinions. But people who are trustworthy hide important things in their heart and keep them in their bank of loyalty.
In short, we need to be discerning about who we open our souls to! Does that person have a history of talking about other people? Do they have your best interests at heart? If not, don’t post anything personal there! The best post boxes are people who don’t allow any old person access.
Pearls and pigs
Many of us will already know the phrase, ‘don’t cast your pearls before swine.’ But what does it mean?
At the most basic level, pearls represent precious things, and pigs represent people who don’t see the value of that precious thing.
Likewise, it’s not wise to offer personal treasures to someone who you know will not appreciate them or view them with contempt. Post your pearls to people who will truly benefit from them, and who will be blessed in the receiving!
There are some women in my life who are packed full of pearls. When I’m with them I love to receive and learn from all the incredible life experience, advice and insight they have. Let’s be people who look for the value in others and are grateful when they give of themselves and offer something that is precious and full of quality.
Don’t waste your gifts, unwrap them
I love the parable of the talents in Matthew 25, which tells of a Boss who went away to travel, and entrusted properly to his three servants. Two of the servant invested it and made gains on it, and they were commended for good stewardship, but the last one hid his away so no one would know it was there, with disastrous consequences.
Our time on earth is too short to hide our talent and resources away in this life, or even use them for the wrong purposes. Invest your talents in the right place, and you’ll see them go places. And if you’re thinking you don’t have anything to offer, you might just need someone to help you unwrap your gifts.
The bin and the post box
… Treasure loyalty in others
… Prize every pearl out there
… Invest every gift you’ve been given.
And watch out for bins disguised as post boxes 😂
H x
Looking for Eden 