Take it From Someone Whose Plate's Been Too Full

I knew it had been months since I'd published a blog, but I have to admit I was shocked when I logged in today and saw it had been over a year! It wasn't for lack of ideas or inspiration.  In fact, God taught me numerous lessons throughout 2019 that I have filed away in the "I need to write about that" compartment of my brain. No, the cause can be attributed to one simple truth: my plate has been too full. Being a full-time mom, housewife, teacher, youth leader and college student has left little time for anything else.  All year I've kept promising myself that I'd finish my Masters degree in December and then get back to my writing as soon as 2020 hit. Cheers! Here's to keeping promises to yourself.

Fullness.  That's what I want to write about today. Each year I pray about a word that will represent the year ahead.  This year I had some ideas, yet none seemed to fully fit what I felt God was placing in my spirit.  After going through several options, I asked God to just reveal to me the word He wanted me to have, but then it seemed He was directing me to choose.  What did I truly want out of this year?  That's a hard question - especially coming out of a year like the one I had last year where I learned how challenging a word could actually be (2019's word was repair). 

I almost gave up and decided I didn't need a word for the year, until one morning during Christmas break I spent some time walking around our circle drive and praying. During this walk, part of a scripture kept coming to me: "The fullness of him who fills all things in every way" (Ephesians 1:23). Then another phrase, "Press down, shaken together, and running over" (Luke 6:38).  It felt like I'd been given pieces to a puzzle.  I went inside to read the scriptures and see if I could find more of the pieces.  When I read the rest of Luke 6:38, it all began to fall into place.

"Give, and it will be given to you.  A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." 

For the past 6 months, I have felt God challenging me to give, to clear out, to be more selective about what I bring into my home, put in my body, or squeeze into my day.  See, if there's anything that I've learned these past two years while trying to manage all of the roles I've had to fill, its that not everything I thought was necessary actually is (You'd be surprised how long a house can go without dusting!).  

Seriously though, I'd been living with a mindset that God saw fit to change last year.  For the first several years of our marriage, it seemed my husband and I had just enough money to pay the bills each month. If I wanted to buy things for our home, it had to be found used at rummage sales or places like Salvation Army. For a long time, our house seemed empty, and I would go to sales often in search of a good deal, then haul items back that I thought we could use - ignoring the fact that nothing really matched.  It was a fun and fairly inexpensive outing for myself and my friends.  The problem was, once the house became full, I still had the same mindset.  I bought more and more things that I didn't need simply because the price was right.  

I found that things in our lives can quickly go from being full to being cluttered.  

Our homes, our schedules, our minds, our relationships, our pantry.  All of it.  When things become cluttered, life gets messy. We have a hard time finding what we need.  We have a hard time deciding what to do with what we have.  Organization is nearly impossible. Not to mention, the clutter creates an environment of stress and frustration.  Often, we have so much we even forget what we have!

It's true that being full is a positive thing; no one wants to do without. But it's also true that our lives can be full of the wrong things. There is a responsibility that comes with choosing what we fill up on. As a mom, I wouldn't just let my child fill up on junk food all the time.  Besides the obvious factor that if he eats too much candy all at once, he'll vomit it back up, I also know that making a habit of this would lead to unhealthy eating patterns and eventually health risks that should have been avoided.  It's easy to recognize this simple truth in terms of nutrition.  Unfortunately, we don't always recognize that this has practical application in other areas of our lives as well. 

I want this year to be full, but I want it to be full of the best things:  Family. Faith. Freedom.  To have the best, I recognize that I have to give up some things that are less-than.  I have to clear out and make room for what God has for me, rather than trying to hoard all the things that sound good in the moment.  I know that in my heart, I'm willing.  Now, I just have to put it into practice by exercising my responsibility to choose wisely.  

Also,  in view of Luke 6:38, I believe I'm being asked to make room for what God wants to provide by giving out what I already have. It's ironic how often we think we have nothing to give, while in reality God can take our little and turn it into much if we will just be willing, like the widow in 2 Kings chapter 4, to generously pour out what we do have. 

What do you need to pour out this year so that God can make your year full of His best?  Remember, no matter what He asks you to give, He can be trusted to give back in full measure, "pressed down, shaken together, and running over." 

"Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple...You crown the year with your bounty, and your carts overflow with abundance." (Psalm 65:4,11)