This is the Stuff

In my exhaustion, I have accumulated.  The piles abound in my home, the work beckons.  "Sort, store, pass, keep."  It is all consuming.  In such a short time, the house is over-run with excess.  How did we get to this?

I am reminded of Ecclesiastes.  One of my most and least favorite books God has written.  It can comfort me when I am overwhelmed, but depress me when I am chasing after a plan.  

Chaos brings more chaos and stuff means more stuff.  A new dress for the teens means new shoes that match.  A new season means long pants.  Do we have Oregano in the cabinet?  It isn't organized and I can't find it.  Sorting, organizing, making systems.  SIMPLIFYING!  

This is a season of chaos and loss.  Recently gone:  Sunglasses, $20, a book...

Still, I praise Him.  The one who knows what the loss means.  Is it a blessing that the book is gone? Now I can spend more time in His Word?  Was the $20 found by someone who needed it more?  I will never know.  I may never know what He has planned for me through this.  The lesson could be as simple as "simplify."  

Consider what God has done:  Who can straighten what He has mad crooked?  When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this:  God has made the one as well as the other.  Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future.  Ecclesiastes 7:13 - 14

Francesca Battistelli said it best, "This is the stuff that drives me crazy!...but I've gotta trust You know exactly what your doin'..."