I, on the other hand, have been trying to organize my WHOLE HOUSE (I wish we had an attic sometimes—or some kind of storage in this house just to toss things.... but then again, I guess that defeats the purpose of today's devotion). Since we have moved in, I have realized just how much work it was going to take to make this place feel like home. And though we are not there yet, I am starting to see the fruit of my work—very encouraging!
Sarah Mae quoted Isaiah 40:12 for us this morning, which states:
“12Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?”
Yes. These verses do call us to order—and organization. Because we have been commanded to be like the Lord, we are to strive after the characteristics that make Him God. One of them is making order within our spheres of influence. So how do we find order?? Well, we start by looking at the areas that need order, getting rid of the stuff (yes, this means to declutter and be selective so that you have less to organize in the long run) and making organization work for you. No, you don’t have to run out to pottery barn or target and get the cute little organization boxes (they have a cute price as well!). It doesn’t have to be picture-pretty, but it does have to work… for you. Be reasonable and try looking at some of the sites she suggests we check out for organizing tips:
• Organizing your way: http://organizing.yourway.net/
• I’m an Organized Junkie: http://orgjunkie.com/
• Like Mother, Like daughter: http://ourmotherdaughters.blogspot.com/
• Unclutter: http://unclutter.com/
So what does an organized home look like? Try ‘a home…you can find what you need when you need it’ (Mae).
Lately, I constructed this little bench that goes in my corner, keeping my computer, our keys, my purse, Andrew’s wallet and all our bills neatly organized within its structure. I can’t tell you enough how much this has cut down on the clutter of things on my dining room table or on the corner of my kitchen counter! Leaves space to feel free from cleaning every time I walk through the door.
And once you figure out how to de-clutter and organize, you will find your house moving through a messy cycle again…. O life.
The Thornbury house is experiencing this never-ending low cycle almost daily now as Andrew fills up his ‘mobility room’ (aka: the baby room), going through his checklist of everything he needs for a deployment of two months. Sooo…Let’s just say the house is not looking its best at the moment ;)
Yet don’t let this make you cry like I am tempted to do! Although this may seem discouraging and despondent, I want to encourage you to have courage and face this nasty cycle… with perseverance and HOPE!
"3More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."--Romans 5:3-5
“Hope keeps me going, the hope of something better one day. Everything we are doing to care for our families by the way of our homes we are doing for eternal purpose! It all matters! God is molding us with each pulled weed of housework, with every spill lovingly cleaned up, every mouth wiped and diaper changed and kiss given… It matters and is not insignificant. Your work in the mundane is the refining of gold.”—Sarah Mae.
This has encouraged me to just let my priorities (which are obviously not to clean and organize right now) come first and THEN attack the low end of the cycle. For those of you who are tackling this issue right now, I AM PROUD OF YOU! You will be rewarded for your hard work eith the fruit of your labor and by God Himself :)
Have a most blessed day!