Spam Trip - 2012

When I think back on some of the events of 2012,  a trip to the Spam museum was a fun highlight.  One of the "Trinity Trippers" was kind enough to share with me some of her reflections about the trip.  Enjoy!!  Thanks Ellamae for sharing!  - kg- 

Pastor Kathy took a group of Trinity Senior Citizens to the Spam museum in Austin, MN and since that time I have thought a lot about hogs, or pigs as some like to call them, and us as human beings or people as we are more commonly referred to.

Spending some of my youth living on a farm I was familiar with pigs and actually had never given them much thought.  I knew that they liked to wallow in the mud on hot days put their snoot in the feeder or foraged for food on the ground, oink lots and pushed other pigs out of the way and sometimes were just a nuisance.

The same can be said about people.  We sometimes wallow in our own self-pity thinking that life has not been fair to us.  Sticking our nose in other people’s business seems to be a favorite pastime.  And whether it’s shopping for groceries or going to a restaurant we like to be first in line and we too can make a nuisance of ourselves and all too often we forget our manners.

I looked on the Internet about pigs and was surprise to learn there is quite a variety and likened it to the variety of people on earth.  There is also a long list of quotes referring to people and pigs.  Most of the comments we make are not very complimentary.  We say someone “Eats like a pig”, they are “Filthy as a pig” or “Lives in a pigsty”, well you get the picture. 

In Matthew 15:10 &11 Jesus says, “Listen to me and understand this: a man is not defiled by what goes into his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”  So whether you “Bring Home the Bacon” and/or “Fry It Up In the Pan” perhaps we need to think about our words especially when we use them in reference to other people.

The Spam Museum was very interesting.  We were given a tour along with a video presentation and tried our skill at filling a Span can from start to finish.  This was fun but stressful as there was a timer clicking away from beginning to end. 

And of course Spam and the process caused me to think some more on the subject.  On occasion my Mom fried Spam for a meal and then there was only the original.  Today Spam has many different flavors.  Like people some are full of spices and some are bland.  But we are thankful that God loves us all. 

While I struggled trying to put the fake Spam into the can I thought there are times when I feel as if I am being pushed into places that I really do not want to go.  And, long before the ham was on the assembly line I wonder if the lowly pig knew what his final destination consisted of as he walked the plank onto the semi-truck.

The good news is that we as Christians know that the final destiny awaiting us has a much better outcome. 

In John 3:16 Jesus said, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, and in John 14:2 Jesus says, “I go to prepare a place for you.”  

LET THE JOURNEY BEGIN.

Ellamae Butler