When Things Get Messy

My house is a mess, y'all.   Not "kind of messy".  A big ol' embarrassing mess.  Pretty much a disaster area.

Ok - no, it's not that bad!!

Nothing much is getting done around here.  I am neglecting the housework while I try to push through to complete a few big orders facing deadlines.  (And not making the kind of progress I would like to see).  Meanwhile,  things are piling up around me.

I keep nagging at the offspring to help with keeping the kitchen clean.  They do the bare minimum to be able to say they did what was asked.

I'm dangerously close to running out of clean laundry.  And the Man of the House may or may not be rewearing socks.

Something is going to have to give soon.  I feel stretched too thin and on the edge of that place where I just might snap soon.

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Even If It Looks Like a Mess

If you had come into my office back in the days when I was working with WIC, you would like have seen piles of papers , folders, binders and files all over my desk.  There might have been post it notes stuck on some of the piles, along with a few tacked to the front of my computer screen.  A book or binder may have been lying open on one corner of the desk.
 
To you it seemed random and unrelated.  It might even look like one big mess.

But to me it all made sense. 

I could see the bigger picture.  I knew my plan, and everything was there for a reason to help get a goal accomplished.

It’s like that with life also.

When we look at life, it may seem like a long string of random events.  Some may seem like they are related - one leading to the other.  But much of it just seems like those piles of papers on my desk - a scattering of stories, events,  and memories.   And some of it just seems like a total mess

To God, it all makes sense. 

He has a plan.  Like a puzzle.  Each piece fitting together to create the bigger picture.

All of the highs and lows.  The good times and not so good.  Yes, even the messes.  God takes all of them and fits them together to reach His eternal goal. 

With Actions and Truth

I'm cross-posting between my other blog and here because I am just too tired to think creatively enough to come up with two separate posts today.  I apologize for rmy laziness...

Today The Man of the House, The Little Man, and myself went with our small group from church to work on a service project. Our church sponsers days like this a few times a year, (known as "Love Loud" projects) for members to go out into the community and be of service to others.


We each did various chores including weeding and weed eating, hauled garbage, assembled a grill, spread some mulch, power washing, and assorted repair work.

It was a great experience. And exhausting.

Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth ~ 1 John 3:18

The Road Ahead

She closed the door and glanced over at the pile of items sitting on the passenger seat beside her.  A jumble of thirteen years worth of memories.  Gripping the steering wheel tightly in both hands, she rested her forehead between them and pondered the step that had just been taken. 

She had been running on auto-pilot most of the day.  Going through the usual motions and duties associated with her job.  And now that her shift was at an end, she had time to finally process it.  She was gainfully unemployed for the first time in many years.  By choice.  And the concept was both terrifying and exhilarating, all at once. 

One moment her heart sank to the very pit of her stomach, weighed down with fear and uncertainty.  "What if this was all a big mistake?", she thought.  The implications of this change in her life swept up and over her, making her feel overwhelmed.

But in the very next moment she soared, lightened of the burden of the responsibilities and stress of the past years of employment.  She had an endless expanse of possibilities out in front of her.  There were new things to try, and new memories to make.

She smiled to herself as she put the car into gear and pulled out onto the road.  Knowing that change is never easy, but nothing can happen without it.

Violated

Today was a rough day.

It started out well enough.  Good morning.  Ready for work in time to leave a little early.  A beautiful view of the sunrise.  Another view of sunlight lighting up the side of a mountain.  It was looking like a good one.  Then I was robbed. 

Literally...

I made a quick stop at Wally-world on the way to work.  We are putting together a gift basket for a co-worker who recently had a knee replacement and I wanted to pick up a little something to add to it.  While I was in there, someone else was helping themselves to a gift of my tote bag.  I don't know what they were hoping to get.  Maybe he thought was going to score a laptop, or an iPad, or some other electronic goodie.  Unfortunately for him, there was nothing in the bag that would be of much value to your average thief.  A few pens, some paper clips, a bag of roasted almonds, some work papers.  The bag is even monogrammed, so unless someone happened to have the same initials as I do - even the bag isn't much good to them.  Tough luck buddy.

As soon as I got back in the car I realized the bag was gone, and got stressed.  I got back out of the car, went back in the store, asked for security, called the husband, called work, called the police.  Went back to the car and cried while I waited for the police to show up.  I even walked the parking lot looking into the trashcans located at each cart corral hoping maybe they had ditched the bag there. 

According to Walmart's security cameras, the creeper was sitting in his car when I pulled into the parking lot.  As soon as I got in my car and went inside, he pulled over next to my car, got into my car and took my bag.  Then pulled back to his original spot, and sat there.  He was there when I came out.  While I realized the bag was gone.  When I walked back inside to make my calls and report the incident to security, he got out and walked inside the store. Then you see him come out, get in his car, and leave.  Which means he walked right by me at least once, if not twice, while I was in the foyer area making calls.  And honestly that creeps me out as much as the entire rest of the situation. 

Fortunately while I was waiting for the police officer to show up, someone from the office called me.  A local business owner had found my bag sitting in his parking lot just then as he came into to open for the day.   There were flyers with my work number in the bag, so he called to let someone know he had found their bag.  So I got the bag, and all its contents back in the end.  While security, and the police department, have the thief and his car on film. 

I suppose it's a case of "all's well that ends well".  But I still feel a little shaken by the whole thing.  Feels like a good night for a glass of wine.