Still Life…

It’s that crazy time of year. Lots to do and lots to celebrate.

I’m the first person to acknowledge that lately it’s hard to stay focused and to keep my peace.

We traveled for this last holiday and while it was nice to get away it was even nicer to come home again. For the moment anyway.

But then we get to unpacking. Trying to find a place for everything so everything has a place. And in our little house that can be a real challenge. Maybe even an exercise in futility? Haha

I often remind myself that those other houses we visit that are so clean and tidy and organized are full of people who work and whose children go to school. I remind myself that my children are educated at home and all the work that I do is done at home. A perfectly tidy and always clean home would be impossible.

Yet even remembering that there are days when the piles of stuff and the mess and the toys strewn all about the house gets to me. When there isn’t enough time it can be frustrating and when you aren’t even sure where to begin that can make it even worse. Has anyone else ever joked that it would be easier if the house just burnt down?

As we have been moving further away from doing formal school at a table and has made it even more challenging to manage the home. So many projects. So much experimenting and creating. Oh all the wonderful things… but where does it all go?

We have drawers and closets that are full of things. Many of these things my husband put there for safekeeping. Boxes of stuff that we keep just in case…. but just in case what?

As our family grows and as our children explore it seems the stuff becomes more and more. My younger son: wood carving and tools . My oldest son: leather working and painting and drumming . My oldest daughter: ballet and baking and stuffed animals. And my littlest lady: dolls….lots and lots of dolls.

So where can it all go? And what do we really need?

Being that for as long as I have had children I have been organizationally challenged I know things need to change. I know that the mess cannot continue to exist. I accept that there will be some mess but our current mess just won’t work.

So I pleaded with my husband to consider letting go of some of the stuff that we have been hanging onto just in case I asked by children to reconsider the books and the stuff that they have. Did they love it? Can they consider leaving it?

As I work each day I remind myself but it’s not about stuff. We can’t take any of it with us. Sometimes what we have the comes who we are. Other times what we have keeps us from becoming who we are meant to be.

I think about the scriptures say that the wise woman builds her home and the foolish tears it down. With her own hands. I wonder sometimes if she tears it down because she’s so stressed by all the stuff. We cannot let all this stuff getting away of the greater task that we have been called to.

It is a reminder that we need to seek first the kingdom of God. May we never be so busy or tired or distracted by the things of this world but we cannot focus our eyes on the only one who really matters.