This morning, bringing in the bins, I reflected how painlessly I had got rid of all the empties from a wedding, a mighty pile of prunings from some zealous garden work, piles of dusty papers from a raid on the loft, and a small ziggurat of sodden cardboard (wine bottles come in boxes, you see). How easily we take such services for granted, and how quick we are to complain when they are flawed in any way. If you have ever visited a city where rubbish is not routinely collected –Jericho, Palermo, Birmingham  - you will know how little rubbish it takes to make a place quite hell-like.

We take so much for granted in our daily life – particularly in green, gracious and favoured Hertfordshire. We have parks and walkways, bicycle routes, lakes, woodlands and rivers.  You can walk for miles through well-ordered countryside (generally starting and ending at a tidy, welcoming pub) and not run out of different routes for a year.  And the paths will be safe,  mostly litter-free,  and well-maintained, all apparently by fairies.

One by-product of a life centred on God is gratitude. People of faith are taught to thank God daily for all the good things provided – and there are good things even in the most downtrodden lives. Today I started off by thanking God for the bin men and the Council who employs them, for the speed and efficiency of those marvellous machines. I even managed to rejoice in their splendour while stuck behind one in a narrow street.  We are not blessed with nice wide streets – but then we are blessed with green belt instead.  Thank God for that!

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Readers who submit articles must agree to our terms of use. The content is the sole responsibility of the contributor and is unmoderated. But we will react if anything that breaks the rules comes to our attention. If you wish to complain about this article, contact us here