Hi everyone! I’m here to share a Franciscan moment I had the other day. A Franciscan moment means something like a light bulb moment which suddenly occurs to you and which is relevant to our faith =)
I am an environmental engineer and part of what I learn is dealing with shit. Not the shit that comes from your boss, or work, or demanding and mean people you serve, I do mean the shit that comes from your backside, literally. I know some of you might be turned off at this point, it’s true not many people are enamoured about shit, can’t blame you but if you’re interested to hear what I have to say, read on! haha =p
Ever wonder where all that shit flushed down the toilet goes? There are a few ways to deal with wastewater.
1. The most heck care way is just to dump it into the river or sea. In which case it’ll kill all the fish there, stink the place to hell, and generally make everyone in the surrounding area sick and depressed.
2. The next way is to filter out whatever shit you can from the water with primitive means, leave it to dry a bit and then burn all of it in a fire. In which case, most of the time the air gets quite polluted and you become a contributor to global warming.
3. The last way is to send it to a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). In the treatment process at a WWTP, the wastewater is poured into a large basin where bacteria are allowed to consume most of the shit. After a few days, the sludge (this term refers to the bacteria and remaining waste left) will collect at the bottom of the tank and can be removed.
The sludge is then put into a digester where the shit is allowed to digest further to produce methane gas (which is a good fuel for burning). After the digestion is finished, what is left is a lump of black stuff, which can then be used to make fertilizer for your plants and crops. Tada!
What occurred to me and I want to share with you today is this. Sometimes, life can be quite shitty. Your school, your work, your relationships, your social life, and many other things can be very tough and get you down. But while life may seem unfair, there are a few ways you can deal with it.
1. The most heck care way is not to do anything about your problems. Just dump them by the roadside and hope someone else will come along to clear your rubbish for you. More likely, your problems will kill your relationships, grow stinker each day, and make your life more miserable than ever.
2. The next way is to try and siam your problems and take the quick way out. Try and filter through them as fast as possible, if an opportunity comes to pass the problem on to someone else, do it. If you see a quick fix method use it, don’t worry that it contributes to a bigger problem elsewhere, that’s for other people to deal with.
3. Lastly, you could look through your problems and sort them out in a careful and meticulous way, and send them to a ‘what would Jesus do’ facility (WWJD). In the treatment process at a WWJD, the shitty problems are poured into the lap of God in prayer. ‘Come to me all you who are weary and overburdened, and I will give you rest.’ Matthew 11:28.
Your guardian angel helps you sort out the various problems and carries them to God. One by one the problems are consumed by the love of God. ‘I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’ John 16:33.
After a few days, the whirlpool of feelings of guilt, despair, anger and loneliness settle to the bottom of your heart and can be removed. ‘Why am I so sad? Why am I so troubled? I will put my hope in God, and once again I will praise him, my saviour and my God.’ Psalm 42:11
They can then be put into a thought digester, where you reflect on what went wrong in your life, what caused you to feel so shitty, how God was with you all those times; the things you learnt through those shitty circumstances, what you gained from them and how they helped you improve yourself, how can you proceed on from here and tackle your problems with trust in God. Suddenly when the digestion is complete, a shining gold mass remains, purified and ready to be a fertilizer in other people’s lives. Tada! ‘But He knows the way I take; when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.’ Job 23:10
Moral of the Story: Not all shit needs to remain as shit, consult with God and He will be able to transform it into nourishment for you =)
This reflection is dedicated to God and Fran, both of whom inspired it out of nowhere haha! Hope you’ve enjoyed reading this piece as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.
Love,
Ben
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