Garbage

The other day I was driving my motorbike through Chiang Mai and I decided to try and find a shortcut. The old city of Chiang Mai exists inside of a moat and the new city of Chiang Mai exists for miles outside of it. The moat is beautiful to look at, especially the places where the old city walls are still standing, although crumbled.

But when it comes to driving, the moat makes me crazy. On the outside of the moat, traffic is one way and on the inside, traffic is the opposite way. So whenever I want to get somewhere in that area, I end up having to cross bridges and do u-turns. It is especially annoying when I can see where I want to go but I can't get there because of the water and the next bridge seems so far away. It is all very hard to explain, but trust me, it is very annoying. Anyway, the other day I was attempting to avoid the moat as much as possible and still get to my to my destination. So I just started turning down streets and finding new paths. I was enjoying myself because I love the sights here in Chiang Mai. I love how the old mixes in with the new. There may be an old temple that has been there for hundreds of years and next to it is a brand new hotel being built. I find it fascinating and it never ceases to amaze me. I was driving along and I turned down a street and was overcome by the smell of garbage. It was so strong that I had to hold my breath. Up ahead on my right was a mound of trash so tall that it towered over the buildings around it. People were walking and crawling through it looking for treasures that somebody else through out. I was stunned because I had never seen anything like that in Chiang Mai. The rest of the street was completely normal. The were markets and open air restaurants right next to it. Suddenly the city that I find so beautiful had a blemish. I am not sure why but the image of that street has stuck with me for the past few days. It was not the first time I have seen garbage like that or people rooting through it and yet, I can't get it out of my head. The more I think about it, the more I think that maybe God directed me down that street. I have become comfortable in Chiang Mai, it is my home. Everywhere I look, I see beauty and sometimes I forget about the poverty here. I forget about the underlying evil and the hold that Satan has on this city. Sometimes I forget about all the lost souls. I drive by them every day on the way to wherever I am going and I forget to really look around me and pray for those people. That pile of trash reminded me of these things and I am glad that I saw it. Now when I drive or walk down the street, I pray for those that I pass and I pray for the city of Chiang Mai to be delivered, for a revival to happen in this place and all over the world.

It is amazing what a pile of trash can do, huh?