Hearts of Christian HomeKeepers™

Enough Stuff
“Wouldn’t a new chair look wonderful here?” my mom commented as I showed her the extra rooms we had just added to our house by deciding not to rent out the adjacent apartment. Our four children were growing and our little home was becoming increasingly crowded so my husband and I decided to open up the doors between the two living spaces. “No mom, we have more than enough stuff, what we need is more breathing room.” I replied. It felt so good to have some empty space to move around in my home. I didn’t need to add a thing, just reorganize what I already owned.
As we started to move things around our “new” home I realized I had more than enough stuff and started my “donate to the church yard sale” pile. The pile grew larger with each room we cleaned and rearranged. I began to see how all this stuff owned me instead of me owning it. No wonder I had felt suffocated in my home. How much time was I using tending all this stuff instead of enjoying life?
As the home transformation continued I became pickier about what to keep and resolved to evaluate before I added more stuff. I had a revelation. All those homes I envied because they were so neat were that way because they didn’t have an abundance of stuff. Knowing when enough stuff was enough I was on my way to a more streamlined home. When friends stopped over I won’t cringe because of the piles of mail, laundry, whatever on the table waiting for me to decide where they go.
. Now that I have room for my sewing machine I started a quilt from my girls’ out-grown dresses instead of keeping them in the attic. As my family changes with the seasons of life the amount of stuff we require will change. I hope I can continue to be sensitive to how much stuff I need. It’s hard to not keep the treasured dollhouse or train set for my grandchildren but all those plastic toys don’t need to stay.

Enough Time
I’m exhausted, it’s late and I still have so much to do. Make the flyers for the spaghetti dinner, type up the Sunday school lesson, correct school papers for the kids, iron hubby’s shirts, sew a costume…the list goes on and on. How do I find enough time for everything? The answer is I don’t. The Lord has blessed me with only so many hours each day. I need to be a better steward of my time. I need to prioritize.
Prioritizing is not an easy task. I needed help so I enlisted family input. I asked each of my children what it was that mom does that no one else can do. I figured that would be a good place to start. Their answers surprised me…snuggle with a favorite story book, sing Broadway show tunes with them really loud, give them guidance in difficult situations, correct them when they need it, know who they really are, pray for them. Sometimes it’s the little things that mean the most. The big “up-front” time stealers like keeping the neatest, cleanest house or doing laundry every day are not the most important. Those things still need to be done, but not at the expense of time to dream with your loved ones.

Enough Input
As I run my errands I put the radio on to catch up on what’s going on in the world. The talk show host goes on and on about things that really rile me up or frighten me. I bring in the mail and magazines bring new views on homemaking, fashion, current events and trends. That night I read the newspaper and become saddened by all the bad news being reported. The Internet brings me more opinions and information that I think I need to live in today’s world. I talk to neighbors, friends and colleagues at work and find more outlooks on situations than I can comprehend. All this input overwhelms me and I find myself becoming depressed. My brain just wants to shut off, but I have an information addiction. How much do I really need to know? How many sources should I be turning to? While I’m listening to all these voices how can I hear God speaking to me? I need to sort through all that is offered by using God’s filter and His Word. That would be the only way to know when enough is enough and I will be truly filled and satisfied.

This entry was posted on Saturday, May 16th, 2009 at 10:12 am and is filed under The Christian Woman's Life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.