Sorting Through it All

Lately I've been feeling a little scattered--like the leaves of fall. So many thoughts fluttering in all different directions. Wondering where I belong. Wondering what I should be doing. Wondering , wondering, wondering. It is said that someone cannot do too many things at once and do them all well--I have been wondering where to trim, and how to whittle my activities down to make sure my highest priorities get top attention. So for me, this requires lots of prayer--asking for wisdom and God's plan for my life. It's so easy to get side-tracked.

Over this past week, I've been feeling a little burned-out. I think it's partially because of all the emotional stress I've been under. Also, I tend to let the amount of kids I teach or who comes to our Saturday night youth program, get to me--lately our group has really shrunk. So I was sort of losing my spark. Today, with a very small group in class, I was blessed to have two wonderful helpers who stepped in and participated in the activities with the kids--giving new life to our class. We had a great time making murals from passages in God's word. And I realized that maybe with a small group of older kids, we will be able to focus better and do more fun stuff. So part of what my problem has been my perspective. It's not about the amount I have, but what I do with that amount.

A perfect example is my house. It's really small. I mean really, really small! Some may call it cramped or dinky. When I knew I would be moving here, I knew I would have to get rid of tons of stuff. I knew I would have to become more organized and so suddenly, it became my obsession to pore over youtube organizational videos. I found a funny, down-to-earth lady to watch and I soaked it all up. And it was fun. So I didn't look at my super-small house as inadequate (though who wouldn't like more space?), I looked at it as a challenge to live a more cozy, simple life. I had to whittle down my belongings to what would fit in the house I was moving to; I had to sort through books to determine the best ones to keep, as I had only so much space on the shelves and no room for another one. I  had to get creative in how to store the things important enough to keep. Of course, I do have a basement, but I didn't want to store anything I really cared about down there because it's an unfinished basement. But I am happy with my house, even though it's small.

Right now, I'm having to move my thinking from depending on someone else to help--to doing it all myself. Everything I have been doing, all the ways I've been doing those things are being rethought.What stays, what goes, what gets stored in pretty boxes in plain sight, what gets moved to the dirty, old basement and what gets tossed into the trash. And though I am having to do more things myself, I've had helpers show up--helping do some things that I wasn't able to do. And I know that's God's provision, ultimately. Like the space or lack thereof in my house, there is only so much of me to go around, only so much focus, only so much energy, only so much time. So I pray for God's wisdom to know how to order my life.

So what are your challenges? How have you had to reconsider your priorities? What have you had to give up (store in the basement or toss in the trash) in order to accomplish God's plans for you? I'd love to hear about it!