Mar
6
2018
The White Plastic Bag
Posted in Faith 2 Comments
I carry reusable bags into the grocery store.
For years, I chose both paper and plastic when someone was kind enough to bag for me.
Each type of bag was reused in trash cans or as book covers when my children were young.
I always had a supply of bags on hand.
At the suggestion of a friend in the grocery store one day, I bought a few of the reusable bags.
I now have about ten bags in my car at all times.
There have been a few times when I walked into the store without them.
They actually hold more groceries and can be packed more efficiently.
Before the days of reusable bags, I had quite a collection of plastic bags.
I have one on the counter as I am cooking.
I keep one handy when I am paring carrots or potatoes.
It seemed like the plastic bags were multiplying.
I would bring many of the extra plastic bags to a thrift store.
They can always use them for people’s purchases.
Even giving them away, I still had plenty on hand.
I am not a fan of plastic bags; I would much rather carry things in paper.
A local organic market that just opened uses paper bags with handles.
That is actually my favorite type of bag.
I occasionally have some of my groceries bagged that way so I can have those bags on hand.
My organic market does not have a plastic bag in sight.
Years ago, a cashier had a heated discussion about which bag was better for the environment.
The customer said paper bags.
The cashier said plastic bags.
I was an innocent bystander just waiting my turn.
When I approached the cash register, the cashier asked me what I thought.
I really did not want to get into that discussion.
He pressed the issue.
I told him that I do not like plastic bags and think paper bags are better.
The same heated response was given to me as well.
I refused to engage.
I refused to continue such a discussion.
I never realized the choice of paper or plastic could be so volatile.
It was on my walk that I saw it.
There was a white plastic bag attached to a tree branch.
I saw the plastic bag flapping in the breeze.
I wanted to go over and pull it down but the branch was up too high.
Day after day I saw the white plastic bag waving there.
It reminded me of a white flag of surrender.
I wondered if anyone else noticed it.
I wondered how long it had been stuck there.
A Nor’easter came through our area.
Much of the Northeast was affected.
Trees and power lines were down due to high winds.
We were without power for eight hours; I prayed for the Lord to quiet the wind.
When I finally went out for my walk two days after the storm, I had my hood up.
The winds were typical for an early March day.
It was still too chilly to walk in the early morning without my hood.
I had not remembered seeing the white plastic bag in my peripheral vision.
I made a mental note to look up at that particular tree when I walked my second mile.
To my surprise, the plastic bag was still there.
It was still attached to the same tree branch.
It was still waving.
The white plastic bag seemed different this time.
It did not remind me of a white flag of surrender.
Instead, this plastic bag shouted, Victory!
This plastic bag shouted, Tenacity!
I finished my walk thinking about tenaciousness.
I wanted to read the dictionary definition of the word.
I was more interested in its synonyms.
I wanted to be as tenacious as that white plastic bag.
Tenacity: persistence, determination, perseverance, doggedness, strength of purpose, tirelessness, indefatigability, resolution, resoluteness, resolve, firmness, patience, purposefulness, staunchness, steadfastness, staying power, endurance
That white plastic bag somehow held on to the tree branch through 50 mile per hour winds.
That white plastic bag held on during the worst conditions.
No matter what was thrown at that white plastic bag, it did not let go.
I needed that same tenacity in areas of my life.
We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope. (Romans 5:3,4)
It is difficult to rejoice in suffering but that suffering produces endurance.
Those hard times, those trials, produce tenacity.
When we endure, our character is developed.
When our character is developed, there is hope.
How we need hope.
How we need help to hold on.
We cannot just pull up our bootstraps and handle suffering ourselves.
We need Divine help.
The ability to endure is not something we can boast about.
We are often pummeled by life and by situations beyond our control.
Like the white plastic bag, we can hold on.
We are attached to the Righteous Branch, the Lord Jesus.
The winds will howl.
The trials will come.
The suffering is often insurmountable.
But the Lord Jesus is there.
The Righteous Branch is the One who does the holding.
On our own, we would be tossed to and fro by the winds of suffering.
Our tenacity is all because of the One to whom we cling.
He will never let us go.
For that reason alone, we can hold on.
For that reason alone, we can endure.
It is the Lord Jesus, the Righteous Branch, that secures us.
In Him, we have the tenacity of the white plastic bag.
I like the words tenacity and persistance which were explained to me by my Dad as a youngster. What a beautiful meditation.
Thank you so much.
Renee,
What a blessing to have something so important taught to you at a young age. I am sure your father was a wise man. Blessings!
Gina