sallie mae, fungi, and hypocrites...

In light of the recession and the country bumpkin Sallie Mae who hounds me every month for my Whittier College loan repayment, I pack a lunch to work. I don't mind it. In fact it makes me feel like the kid I always wanted to be [note: as a home-schooler I never got to carry a pink Strawberry Shortcake lunch pail and I'm still bitter about it].

A few days ago I opened the refrigerator at work today to see plastic containers of old salad, styrofoam boxes filled with prehistoric food, and a collection of crumpled lunch bags. Being repulsed and controlling gag reflex simultaneously is difficult, but I succeeded. I immediately began to throw bags and boxes away without regard to who the owner might be and wiped up the primordial ooze which plopped on to the floor. While thinking of who on staff could commit such heinous acts of lethargy, I was faced with the sad truth: ME. 

As I rummaged through the frosty drawers, I saw a plastic container which looked oddly familiar... with a cucumber-tomato salad which looked oddly familiar... and a post-it note with writing which looked oddly familiar. Ugh! I was slapped upside the head with a dose of harsh reality: I'm one of the staff members who commit heinous acts of lethargy?! Ugh. Ugh! UGH! I grabbed a paper bag off the floor and began my breathing into it with Lamaze techniques I've seen on television. But it didn't work. I still felt nauseous inside; partly because the salad was growing fungi and partly because I had accused my co-workers of sins that I was committing. 

But isn't this what we do? Isn't this easier than admitting that WE possibly could be the culprit? This is why Jesus said in Matthew 7:3,5 Why do you see the speck in your brother's eye, but you don't see the log that's in your eye... You hypocrite! First take the log out of your eye, and then you can see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye. Biblical lessons through everyday experiences are WAY harder to accept... but I did. I finished throwing away the containers and smiled at everyone who passed my office on their way to the refrigerator. But to ensure that I'm not the ONLY neurotic freak at work, here is a picture of our refrigerator today. Lisa (secretary and office manager extraordinaire) labeled and disinfected our communal fridge. We love her. 

Sallie Mae is breathing down my back for her money so I gotta get back to work before her honky tonk brother Freddie Mac comes to shake me down. 

I work hard for my money, so hard for my money,

B