Toss 'um Out!

I should have thrown them out. Dead. Lifeless. No great value. Good for a season…but no good now.

Those thoughts went through my mind over the winter as I looked at some flower pots filled with dead plants. We had left them out over the winter months. And, though those months had been mild, the plants died and dried up. I should have tossed them…thrown them out. I didn’t.

I remember one instance as I served as manager of the local Christian radio station. The program director came to me, closed the door to my office, and said, “We have to let Joe (not his name) go…fire him.” The PD had hired Joe about six months before.

“Why do we need to let him go?”

“Because he isn’t sounding good,” the PD said. “He isn’t living up to his potential. He just needs to go.”

My next question was said in a rather straight-forward way. “What have you done to help him improve?” The PD paused…thought…looked down…and responded, “Not much.”

With a little encouragement, the PD began to work with the station employee, to set standards, to make suggestions, to coach him…yet hold Joe accountable. And little by little there was growth. The radio man became more and more valuable, playing a solid role in the programming for the station.

What made the difference? Yes, setting standards and offering help were part of the reason for improvement. However, I think the main reason this employee blossomed is the encouragement that said, “We think you are valuable, and you are worth us working with to help you improve.” Years later, after the program director had moved on, Joe was still a valuable member of the team.

Yes…I should have thrown that plant out. It wasn’t worth much. It didn’t look like it had potential. But I kept it. I broke off the old dead branches. I gave it a chance to grow. And something beautiful emerged from that flower pot. I’m glad I didn’t toss it out. It really adds something special to our backyard landscape, don’t you think?

For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.

Isaiah 43:19