I learned something this week. It was life changing, which is perhaps a bit dramatic, as you shall see. Sometimes it is the little things that make the biggest impact. Let me explain.

If you live in RPV, you know (or at least you should know) that EDCO is now encouraging us to put our food waste together with our green waste. Yes, we have all become composters now. Of course, I did notice that they were able to increase my monthly bill to accommodate the extra work involved…for them. It is a state law and if you aren’t doing it yet, you will.

How this works on a personal level is hard. It didn’t start well in our house. We collect our food waste (there is a surprising large amount that accumulates quickly, who knew?) in a small container on the kitchen counter. It’s not ideal. But here’s the rub:  our gardener comes on Mondays and the bin is emptied on Tuesdays. So all week, I put our food waste into an empty trash can. I did that for one week. The experiment failed; the food will be stuck there for a very long time. And wait for the summer heat.

But I learned something this week. At our small group. We have as part of our small group a master of horticulture. Jeff McBurney shared that they make 100% compostable waste bags. So, if I bought some, I could keep the waste in the bag and put the bag in an empty trash can without creating a long-term mess. Really? I had no idea.

I ordered them, and they arrived the next day. And so, this week, we are filling up that small trash bag and when it is full, we will deposit it into the empty green waste container. No lingering smells. No mess. It’s genius. I pass along my idea to any of you who struggle horticulturally. I also learned the free containers provided by EDCO are horrible. But I’m all for reducing the footprint of waste we create.

So, what’s my point? Oh, that’s easy. Buy some compostable trash sacks. Oh wait, that’s not my point. My point is:  GET IN A SMALL GROUP (sorry for shouting)! Small groups are amazing. You never know what you can learn from someone else. You might not learn great theological truth. But you will add to your prayer list and get your eyes off yourself. You might learn a new recipe. You might learn about compostable trash bags. The possibilities are endless — we need each other.

Doing life together is amazing. Others need you. You need them. So, carve out time for a small group. Besides, it’s the biblical thing to do.