Sometimes in a Different Direction

I finally couldn't stand the clutter that had returned to my room. With both kids at school, it also would be a good morning to work on Rummage Sale donation piles in the garage. The dining room, likewise, needed to be emptied in anticipation of getting out the Christmas tree.

With so much, it seemed, to do, I had no clue where to start.

I prayed for guidance.

I was told to NOT raid the kids' candy stash for stress food; the sugar just saps me of energy. Then I was told that I should make the bed, so I'd have somewhere to stage piles. The clutter on my once-organized bedside table was too obvious to ignore, and in the midst of clearing away those things, I got the word to "lift my lamp."

Huh? Oh, my grandmother's small glass lamp. Yeah, not being much higher than my pillows, the lamp didn't illuminate much. Lift it how? A box... somewhere I ought to have a not-too-big box..... the "game" box. In a hall closet, there is a wooden box about the size of a loaf of bread. It holds card games, which we don't play that much.

OK, box it is. And I can put these cards in there too, and clear these thing out to store elsewhere, and why don't I take all of the art & photos we've taken down during painting & rearranging and stack them on this shelf, guest towels on that shelf, get the Toys-4-Tots donations to the car, and since the game box is gone there's now room for MLB's rock collection & coin collection (get them out of my room!) not to mention, storing the kids' bandages in here is no longer convenient, so let's move them back into their bathroom, so I guess I ought to tidy up under their sink... where did all these wood chips come from?????--- whew, not termites-- just old particle board so I'll get out the vacuum, you know, they don't use tub-toys as much any more, so I'll pull these out to donate, and I have other piles of stuff to donate, so I'll get those off of my dining room table & out of my room and put them in the garage, but where? might as well park them on the freezer and try to clear out the garage on Saturday when Scott can help me move the wood to the back yard.

Wow! I didn't touch the garage, but I did tidy the bedroom (so I can think again) and cleared away the obvious piles in the dining room. As a bonus, I think I finally have put up stuff in that hall closet such that I'm not afraid anything will break or crash on my head. (It's taken me 10 years to get the closet like that, y'all.) My husband even noticed & complimented my new bed-side table arrangement.

I got there because I prayed for guidance. Does it seem odd to pray for the mundane? It seems I mostly hear about prayers for healing or aid in distress, for thanksgiving or prayers answered-- the "big" petitions. I pray those, too, and I try to ask others to join me in my prayers, as I join my prayers to theirs.

I hardly ever hear about prayers for the "small" petitions, but you'll find me praying for those. I'm driving and not sure of my navigation, so I pray for guidance on where to turn, and I find I'm there. I'm low on clean clothes, so I pray for guidance and discover a new way to put together some of my separates. Seems silly, but I have learned that when I rely entirely on myself, especially if I have any portion of doubt, that I make a mess of things. I am blessed with a great store of learned knowledge; I have found in many life aspects that I have a great depth of innate knowledge. I have these, but I have these from God. He is the Teacher. My understanding & practices are imperfect, yet I know I need to lean on Him, to trust Him, to bring to Him my everyday life. Through Him, I feel "together" and get things done.