TODAY'S TRASH. TOMORROW'S TREASURE. Pt. 1

As a pastoral counselor I have served literally thousands of men and women, boys and girls over the course of almost two and a half decades, and in the confines of three local congregations.

The old century had given way to the next, as I walked into Calvary’s Xerox room one day to do a bit of copying, and I glanced towards the trashcan, and something rather incongruous caught my eye. For lying on top of a pile of assorted office debris I spotted one of those heavy brown accordion file folders; like you might see on a bookshelf or in a wall safe.  

Of course, I immediately retrieved the item, curious to investigate the thing; thinking perhaps someone had accidently disposed of it.
And holding the folder in my hand, I found myself looking at a label which had once identified the contents of the folder.

“One Step At A Time”

By

Frank Pacheco

Well, as I peered inside the cardboard shell I discovered that not only had the label once identified the contents, but …it continued to do so. For inside, the accordion folder were eight or ten stacks of paper, totaling perhaps 180 pages, and separated by paper clips into chapters.

Not only was the fragile item recognizable as the draft of an unpublished book, but I immediately recognized the name below the title of the volume. 

For you see, Frank Pacheco, (who when I knew him was a man in his mid-60’s) had served as our visitation pastor for several years, I had visited in his home, and he and I had, from time to time, ‘broken bread together’ at several local restaurants. 

Of course, under normal circumstances I would have surmised that someone had disposed of the item by mistake, and I would have immediately retrieved it, and returned it to its owner.

However,

my friend and ministry associate had ‘gone on to his reward’ a few years prior to my unexpected discovery, and I think he would not have left heaven to fetch this precious relic had the Lord, Himself given him permission.

Of course, I pondered why a fellow staff member would have unceremoniously dropped such a treasure in the trash. While Frank had contracted with a publishing company, paid the required fees, and several hundred copies of the book had, by now, been printed, (I have one myself) what I held in my hand was an irreplaceable loose-left copy of the original manuscript.

I remember thinking,

“What an absolute sacrilege,” and, with that, I tucked the precious relic under my arm, made a personal commitment to myself to locate one of Frank’s relatives, and restore this incalculable piece of his legacy to his family.

(to be continued)

By William McDonald, PhD. Excerpt from "(Mc)Donald's Daily Diary" Vol. 49. Copyright pending

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