I’m from Texas. We don’t recycle, we don’t buy in small quantities, we don’t worry about trees or air pollution. We just consume as we please, and if we’re believers, we think to ourselves (if we think about it all), nothin’s gonna last anyway…Jesus is coming back before any of this really matters.
However, I have found that moving to a blue state (IA) necessitated a change in our habits. I mean, if we didn’t recycle, what would our neighbors think? So, we did the bare minimum, and I still avoided anything too inconvenient or buying organic food. That word (organic) just irritated me.
Then, we moved across the pond. This is my last week of having a dishwasher, we had a working clothes dryer for 1 month last year, we have never had a garbage disposal, which means nothing but water can go down the sink. So, almost every day, I hand-wash a good number of dishes and definitely do laundry b/c the washer is the size of a thimble. As for recycling and trash…Good grief- there’s no getting away with bare minimum. Here we are, with one trash can that gets emptied on a fortnightly basis (translated, once every 2 weeks)…what the what???? So, we find ourselves recycling every bit and bob possible and scraping any food morsel into a container that we then transfer to a composting trash can…that’s right…we are composters…and not because I enjoy giving my smelly trash back to the environment, but because I simply cannot waste the valuable trash can space on something that can feasibly go somewhere else.
As I lamented the amount of space dedicated to dirty diapers, I realized I could do cloth diapers…what is the world coming to???? I AM NOT GREEN!!!! Not gonna happen….this all led me to ponder all the things people are convicted of that have little to do with Christ (including myself) and how we force this onto others. If I were not a believer in Christ, I would hate Christians…seriously. I HATE being forced into things or people insisting their way is better. I just want to be left alone, to make my own choices, and if I need/want help, I’ll ask…:) Not very charitable, but I’m being honest.
Now, as for being green, I actually do think that as believers in the Creator, we should be the best stewards of His creation as possible. Things are not the way they’re supposed to be. God did not create this world to be evil or bad. As Christians, we often become gnostics and treat the material things as bad in and of themselves. This is a shame, because I believe we end up disrespecting what God created as good and what He ultimately will restore to goodness. So, in this area, I am happy to have been enlightened…I will still buy disposable diapers, though, thank you very much…one step at a time.
However, after becoming a mother, I was exposed to (and partook in) a whole new world of convictions. I have had 2 children. I nursed one and bottle-fed the other. In general, I will tell you that I am opposed to attachment parenting and very much believe in establishing (appropriate) independence at an early age. I am contemplating public school at 3 years old. I was a teacher, and I value the school environment for a number of reasons, not the least of which is having our children be lights for Christ and our prayers are for them to be influencers, which overrides any fears of them being tarnished or influenced badly or me thinking I could do a better job.
So, as you can see, we all have our “things,” don’t we? We feel so strongly about them that they feel important enough for others to embrace them. I find myself getting tired, though…tired of people judging each other for not breastfeeding, or for demand-demanding, for always letting your kid cry, for never letting him cry, for homeschooling, for not homeschooling, for working while a mom, for not working as a mom…we can find fault with anything, can’t we? Anyway, I am finally in a place where I can appreciate that Jesus is just about the only thing I can stand firmly on as “the one way.” As Rebekah says, “I want to say what Jesus says (which is)…’I am the way, the truth, and the life.’”
Related posts:
our pastor did a sermon not long ago about not confusing convictions with preferences. I agree that especially in parenting you obsess over what is right for your kid, and it is so easy to start judging others for doing what you would not do. Its even easier, I think before you have a kid that age, or just like any sin, easier to judge people at 'failing' that comes easily and naturally to you. We are way more understanding when we struggle in an area.
on the cloth diaper thing – I just started. My tipping point was a good friend telling me "I'm not a tree hugger, I don't hug trees. I hug money."
I'm fully aware that i now cloth diaper in a drought zone that has _more_ than enough spare land for landfills, but I have a thrill of joy at saving 20cents every time i change a diaper. it is absurd, but that is how I am made
I love it when you share what is on your mind/heart! As Christians we do have a responsibility to care for the Earth that God has put under our protection. I think being forced to think about every piece of trash is a great way to try to live a less wasteful life. I am more aware of what I throw away and try to reuse anything I can.
I can resonate so much with so many of your thoughts. Yes on take care of what God has given us as some will be restored.
Here is my deal, managing the lives of 5 kids and a husband in ministry/school/and soon to be church planting, I chose to spend the greater amount of my coveted time trying to make sure my walk is deep, my marriage thriving, and my kids growing in righteousness.
Now, you add on top of that looking for a job and preparing for a major life change my point is this: it is all about balance and NOT obsessing about anything else behind Jesus. I have tried and I can't do it.
The last thing then is rest in His grace. Be who God has called you to be, live your life for the Lord and not for man and the rest is all in His hands and under His grace. That is where I am at today, in the midst of my circumstances, needing a resting in His grace.
Thanks for your openness and honesty. Love that about you and love you to pieces!
love when you share your thoughts…I'm working towards that bravery. Also, need your email for the blog invite…can't seem to find it in my emails.
I am sort of light green. And it's just because I was raised in a waste not want not type of home. I like the satisfaction that comes with reusing, repurposing, saving money…using an old sour cream container instead Iof buying Tupperware…agree with the money hugger comment
Cloth diapering for me has been very enjoyable. And I am sort of jealous of your composter!!! My dirty secret is that I use disposable liners in Esias' bottles…I don't know why but I just love them. I felt so guilty about it though that I started saving them and washing them out for next time. Oh, I'm such a neurotic…
I have a post a day for the next couple of days so you can see pics of us
Love to talk to you on the phone sometime when you have time
Couldn't agree more about the judging! So hard to know how do you share effectively with grace and love?
I miss my 'honest Emily'! You just bring a smile to my face!
I love this honest post. The other day, the preschool thing came up, and I almost avoided having to bring up that I plan to homeschool, in order to avoid conflict. I decided that who cares what other people think, some kids shine for Jesus in public school, some at home. As long as I know he is the center, it doesn't matter! So…Amen to your post! I have to stop my self daily to remind myself not to judge, and I am NO better!