I am playing catch up this week, and it feels pretty good.

Some people are naturally able to stay on top of most things in their lives; others always seem to be falling behind.

The other day I was wondering if there were outward signs to identify which category people fall into. Like, for instance, when you see a car that has a foot of snow on its roof and it hasn’t snowed in two days, that might be a sign that the owner doesn’t stay on top of his work. 

… Or the person who has a snow covered car, except for half of the front windshield on the driver’s side – that might tell you that the owner also doesn’t take the time to clear his desk at the end of the work day.

That method might not be a consistent telltale sign because I don’t do either of those snow abominations, yet I do find myself falling behind in the work before me.

This week I had some time in my schedule to catch up on things that have been building up on my desk.

Those things are mostly paper, but represented in that paper are actions that I need to take, responses I need to make, suggestions I need to consider, and requests I need to say “no” to. How all this manifests itself is in paper strewn over my desk.  

What happens to me is that I keep up with the duties that are before me, but when there is no clear path forward on an item, that paper can settle in a pile. I will need to do something to address that item, but I don’t need to do it “now” as I have other things I feel are more pressing. 

So “later” becomes the go-to for these demands that don’t have a date or time attached to them. 

They’re nebulous and the paper on my desk becomes this clutter that collects together … much like the problem we have with plastic gathering together in the oceans. The plastic enters the ocean separately but somehow, over time, it is attracted to other plastic and they gather in large ocean garbage patches.

This is exactly what happens on my desk. Each piece of paper is placed on my desk in a specific spot, entirely independent of any other paper that might be there already. 

But, over time – in a much shorter time than the garbage in the ocean – it accumulates and forms piles that spread out and begin to take over the entire surface of my desk. I then have to sift through the paper and deal with each piece. 

I did this yesterday and, I have to say, my desk is looking really good and completely free of paper. 

Now my biggest concern is how to keep that paper from coming back. That question I haven’t solved.

Here’s the thing: In our lives we can clean up really well, get our acts together, correct wrongs, make  amends. We can restore and repair relationships. We can do right things. But like the paper on my desk, how do we keep our lives clean? We might have a plan that works for a while, but old habits and patterns tend to sneak up on us. We find the same messes start to pile up like they did before. Our only hope for cleaning our lives and keeping them clean is God. He makes us clean when we receive Christ’s sacrifice for our mess. He then keeps us clean by giving us power through the Holy Spirit to make wise decisions. 

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What needs a good cleaning in your life? Leave your comments and questions below.