Frustrations!

Maybe it's because I work full-time.  Perhaps it's because I have three children ages 1, 3 & 5.  Or that my husband & I are ships passing in the night when it comes to time spent together.  Whatever it is, lately I can't help but feel like I can't keep up...

My house looks like a mess...all day...every day.  I will never be featured in a lovely Pinterest picture or capture my latest home organizing project in a post here.  I'm just trying to stay on top of the daily stuff (and failing miserably).

The dishes are never-ending & did I mention the only dishwasher I own is currently typing this blog?!

I'm drowning - in laundry, piles of bills/mail, papers/handouts from school & overall clutter.

I live in 1,000 sq ft.  That's it.  For three children, two adults, one cat & all of our clothes/food/toys/memories/etc.  It's not nearly enough.  Not by a long shot.

I write a blog (when I find the time & feel inspired) but I don't think anyone actually reads it except for my husband.  "Hello, is anybody out there?"

I make to-do lists & feel accomplished if I can check off one thing.

I feel like I'm buried so deep in a hole that I can't even see the daylight.  I'd love to figure out a better way to conquer some of these items, but I have to find some motivation first.  Living with all of these things day in & day out for years makes it difficult to get excited about change.

Unpruned Fruit

Although I am by no means a gardener, I am familiar with the concept that in order for trees, shrubs & other plants to flourish, they must be trimmed.  I always have difficulty understanding why you have to thin out by trimming off perfectly good branches.  To the untrained eye, that seems nonsensical.  But, any green thumb will tell you that pruning is a necessary step in order to have beautiful, fruitful & healthy plants.

I recently read an article in my hometown paper about a local green thumb who did not heed the advice to prune back her peach trees.  She thought, as I do, that her peach tree would be alright if she didn't prune off most of the small, healthy young fruits.  Unfortunately, when the peaches ripened, the branch broke under the weight of the all the peaches.  This left her tree weakened...pitiful.

Photo by Linna Roemer

I can't imagine a better analogy to my everyday life.  Although I don't have a lot of control over all the things we say yes to in ministry, it is clear that we frequently find ourselves overwhelmed with the sheer magnitude of things that need to get done & require our attention.  It's incredibly difficult to say no to anything because frankly, when you are talking about a matter of faith, it's hard to say no!

But, that being said, how good am I to anyone if I am spread thin?  Isn't it more powerful to do a few things right than to do a bunch of things half-hearted?  As I go about my week, I plan to think about each thing I'm doing & whether it is adding value to my faith, family or personal well-being.  If not, then I might have to get out my pruning shears.