What DIDN'T Get Done

I'm trying not to stress about it, but a lot didn't get done today. The laundry didn't get finished. (Wait - - does the laundry EVER get finished?) The dishwasher is still full and there's a shelf-full of dishes to go in the next load. I forgot to make bread, so we improvised peanut butter and tortilla sandwiches. And please don't tell Flylady, but my sink isn't shining either.

So what took all morning? I cleaned out two closets! Now, there are some of you who always have organized closets. I'm not one of those folks. I have the Black Hole (the hall closet) and The Pit of Despair (my bedroom closet). Neither one of them stays neat for long. They are in constant use, and I'm not the only one who gets into them to find things. But when I could not find a matching shoe for church Sunday morning, or locate a set of school supplies for one of our kids that I knew I had already purchased, it was time to take steps.

At first, it was just a dot on my To-Do List. Get it done, move on. Then it became a chance to carefully and thoughtfully look through belongings and decide if perhaps it was time to give them to someone else. Or (dare I say it?) throw them away! Some things I remembered from the last time I had cleaned out the closet about a year ago. I remember thinking, "Oh, maybe we still need this. I'll keep it a little longer." Not this time. It is in a bag ready to go to a new home...

Sometimes, my spiritual life is like that, too. I have "stuff" that I've saved up or clung to from times past. I'm not willing to part with the feeling of melancholy, or the self-righteous anger. Or I get lazy in how I spend my free time. I don't get around to reading my Bible or praying, just like I don't put things back where I can find them in my closet. Sure, it's obvious. But the discipline can fade over time unless I remember to self-nag.

Most of the time, though, I think I don't tackle the "big" jobs because they seem too big. Procrastination becomes the key rationale: "I'll do that tomorrow." or "Oh, it's not THAT bad!" (I don't, and it is!) The task seems overwhelming. I need help or just encouragment to try. Or perhaps I just need to allow God to work in me, in my weakness, and "clean out my dirty closet."


From our home to yours...

Deb