Leftovers

When WAS the party?, a photo by bobmendo on Flickr.

I love going into my refrigerator and finding something from yesterday's dinner. What makes me so happy? Probably the feeling is about the pleasure of eating and preserving both the food and the memory. And I like the idea of saving money by (re)using leftovers.

If we were in a court of law, the word 'leftover' might have to do with defendants who are not yet pronounced guilty, but remain in holding cells. If we were in high finance, we might be speaking about a balance of funds. Antagonists might consider this 'too much of a good thing.'

But I'm not speaking about overrun or abundance. I'm thinking about things that remain. What is left after a thing is over.

When I went for a walk with my golf clubs at Long Reef Golf Club in Collaroy, I saw this cluster of balloons trapped by the wind against this bush. And I thought to myself about the party from which these balloons came. Or the balloons themselves and the energy someone expended to fill them.

So many thoughts.
And a bit of pleasure that my golf ball was not trapped by the same bush.

But about the party... when was it? How far away was it? What did it take for the people to organize and advertise and make it nice for the 1) ballet student at Estedford or 2)the graduate of the university or 3) the 6-year-old son of a carpenter.

All I know is that the balloons which marked the space flew into the bushes. Or maybe I'm even wrong about that one. Maybe they had the party in the bushes. See, how easy it is to guess and to be wrong.

But I'm considering the idea of leftovers. What remains after a thing. And here was what some would consider leftover rubbish, a blight on the beauty of the grounds of the golf course. What else is left after the party? Bills yet to pay. Rubbish (at the house) to clean up. Tired kids to put down for the night.

Evidence is an ironic reality. We see the balloons, and we think festive. What else it represents is what's leftover in our minds from similar events or visuals from our past. Those parties to which we were not invited in school. Those weddings we didn't attend. New Years Eve when I stayed home. You get it.

What's leftover in your mind if I share some words like synagogue, Purim, Pesach, Law, commandments, righteous? Do you feel a need to excuse yourself? Do you get sweaty palms?

God is in the business of loving you and making you welcome in His life. That's an event you don't have to regret missing. Balloons or not, He invites you. Look up, you just might see His hand reaching out to pour out His kindness on you.