As we grow in our relationship with God we establish filters around our
body, soul and spirit to filter out the negative things that want to enter our
lives and pollute the pure deposit made by God. What caught in these filters
will tell the story of how we chose to live.

Jan and I live in a small, historic Gold Rush town in southern
Oregon.  In the 1850’s this area was
booming with the discovery of gold. 
People from all over the world descended on our area and left behind traces
of their lives and civilization.  Today,
when a new sidewalk is installed or some form of excavation takes place,
archaeologists from our local university will appear and set up screen filters
to sift through each pile of dirt to discover our buried history. Much of what
is found is discovered in the garbage heaps where the refuse of life found a
home. These bits of refuse are skillfully assembled and become parts of a
developing puzzle giving us a glimpse into the past. You can learn a lot about
a person’s life when you sift through their history and discover what they
chose to leave behind.

Someday, when you depart this life and we set up a spiritual
archaeological dig to sift through the remnants of your history, it will be
interesting to discover what you chose to leave behind. Like a small shard of
glass or the broken handle of a Chinese teacup discovered under the surface
soil of my small town, each discarded piece of your life will someday tell a
much larger story of how you chose to live your life.