Please Forgive Me

Dearest Friends-

Please forgive me. After much evaluation and prayer, I have come to realize that my priorities have been all wrong.

Forgive me for not inviting you over for a cup of tea or coffee...but when I did, I profusely apologized for the dishes piled in my sink, the toys strewn across the living room floor or the basket of unfolded laundry.

Forgive me for not texting you back or returning your phone calls...but when I did, I over-dramatized the difficulty of  my life and made excuses about why your efforts to reach out to me were not returned.

Forgive me for my thoughtlessness...instead of thinking how I might be able to serve you as I ran errands, my mind was focused more at the long list of my "to-dos" instead of serving you, my brothers and sisters.

Forgive me for my lack of effort...instead of being willing to meet you, I have asked you to meet me at my home or simply said my schedule was just too busy (which at times it has been).

Although this season of motherhood is hard and despite my house being a bit of a mess (how can it not be with two kids under two plus two fill-time working parents!!), there is no good excuse for my lack of effort and lack of graciousness towards you. I have been really thinking about my purpose in life and the only repeated theme is to GLORIFY GOD. Yes, God does desire me to glorify Him through caring for the THINGS, possessions, He has given me but really when it comes down to it, it is relationships that really matter.

The Bible mentions time again about the little value our stuff actually has. It is easy to get caught up in wanting to obtain more, have better/newer house decorations, more stylish clothes...more! MORE! MORE! As I go through the book "UnStuffed" by Ruth Soukup, I realize that I was actually starting to suffocate and drown in my sea of stuff. On the surface, my house seemed organized but you did not see the pile of platters brimming out of my cabinets or the box full of "too small" clothes that I just couldn't get rid of. The duplicates of unused office supplies. The pile of books I would never read again but just could not get rid of.....All of this stuff made it easy for me to make up excuses about why I could not meet with friends or have them over...."I have too much laundry to catch up on." "I have to clean my house." "Naptime is two hours away, I just can't make it."

Excuse after excuse I let my physical stuff overrule my life and my "stuffed" schedule made it easy to say no to making friends a priority. I clearly had it ALL wrong!

Over the last month, I have been going through my house...room by room, drawer by drawer, cupboard by cupboard. I set a "get-rid-of" limit per section and created a "get-rid-of" station where all the unwanted items would be placed for donation. At first the process was slow...almost emotional at times but I did it. After about 1-month, I was able to comb through my whole house making donations trips throughout the weeks.

On Mother's Day, for the first time I can remember, I walked into my house after a day away and I actually sighed a BIG sigh....."I'm Home!" I thought. My home has become more comfortable with less stuff. My mind did not float to all of the things I had to do or had to clean or had to organize....I was simply home! It was an amazing feeling.

This journey to becoming uncluttered, unstuffed and more of a minimalist is certainly not over. It takes intention to define what I want my home to be used for and what physical possessions I keep to  accomplish those goals. It takes protecting my schedule and being mindful about my priorities and keeping those items a priority...like most good things it takes effort and intention.

So, please forgive me for all of the above mentioned. If you have struggled with any or all of the things mentioned above, please join me! Please join me in creating a more comfortable home by getting rid of our over abundance. Join me in reviewing the weekly schedules of our families to make the true priorities...the TRUE priorities. And lastly, but most importantly, please join me as we attempt to glorify God in every attitude and action.

As we stand together, we can accomplish much, "Two people are better off than one, for they can help each other succeed." Ecc. 4:9