Dung

Has anyone else out there felt like their life is full of dung? Okay, I'm only half joking here...sometimes the things we have to deal with in our lives are not pleasant by any stretch of the imagination.

I started thinking about this a week or so ago. When we were reading scriptures as a family, we read the allegory of the vineyard, where the Lord is tending to his vineyard. He talks about all the things he has done to help his vineyard grow. One of the things mentions is that he "dunged" his vineyard.

Dung. As in poop. Fertilizer.

My kids laughed every time they read the word "dunged." They read it multiple times just for fun. And it started to dawn on me (yes, I'm special ed in religious education) that our lives are filled with dung. We see it as poop...stinky, negative, undesirable, bad stuff. Yet in the world of vineyards and gardens, dung helps plants grow vigorously, produce fruit/vegetables, adds color and strength to the plant. Is it possible that the dung in our lives is meant to do the same thing? Maybe instead of seeing our trials as dung, we could look at it as fertilizer.

Just a thought to consider. I need to go and get some dung for my garden.   :)