I don’t have the best home filing system in the world, but it works for me. Part of my system includes a "to be shredded" bag. You know – just doing my part to prevent identity theft, and all. So last spring at income tax time, I thought it might be a good idea to go through the "to be shredded" bag, just in case something important had inadvertently found its way there.  I dug into the distasteful chore of sorting through old trash.

"Are you sure you feel like going through that garbage?" my husband asked. 

"I'm pretty sure I don't," I told him, "but maybe I should."

Sure enough, something that looked like it might fall under the category of health expenses – "Explanation of Benefits" – looked suspect.  I may need those, I thought.  To be honest, I hadn't opened most of them.  With the large, bold type reading, "not a bill" across the top, why bother? I opened the first EOB statement, only to discover something a tad out of the ordinary.  A reimbursement check for something like $12 was attached.  I opened another – $6 this time.  And another for $20. When all was said and done, I had rescued $122.61 from the shredder. Thankfully, none of them had expired. 

We all go through garbage that – if given the choice – we would really rather not go through. But maybe we should. Some days we cry out to God, asking Him why He would ever allow us to go through it. In fact, maybe you’re going through some today.  But look again. Perhaps that garbage you’re going through is really $122.41.

Along those lines, we've all heard it said that one man's trash is another man's treasure. (Garage sale, anyone?) The current, trendy phrase "going green" is a recycled idea in itself, not unlike the "ecology now" movement of the 1970s or the World War II "conservation movement" of the 1940s. 

It's still called stewardship. And when we practice good stewardship of the gifts – including natural resources – that God has loaned us, there is a lot less garbage to contend with. 

In this issue of the Malone Magazine, you will meet some creative Malone alumni spearheading efforts to do just that.