This is the week many of us think we will catch up with our lives, you know, the fantasy that we can clean out all the extraneous stuff and papers we have been keeping for only God knows what reason. Apart from finding stuff that I did not remember even having, and trying to figure out where it should all go, most cleaning is moving one stack of papers, books, and other items from one place in a house to another.
True, I was able to load up two small boxes of paper for recycling, but the real test is what do we do with the cards, papers, and other stuff we just can’t part with. There are those quotes we jotted down on a sticky note and then used as a bookmark for the book we didn’t finish reading.
And that’s just the beginning, of course. Trying to decide what is essential in our lives is not an easy task. But I did find the new shoelaces I bought last winter, a watchband to replace the broken one, and a picture of my granddaughter Molly when she was two. Finding that photo made the day worthwhile.
Prayer for the Day
Old and new are jumbled together in our minds, O God,
As we consider the year to end and the new to begin;
Tracing the elements of our lives, we ask you, O Lord,
Where we should go, what direction should we take.
May we remember the promise of this season,
And the hope that it brings for creating a new world.
In the name of the One who embodies that hope,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
One of the advantages of being disorganized is one is always having surprising discoveries.
- A.A. Milne, British author of Winnie the Pooh (1882-1956)
Humility leads me to do anything I can do in any situation without having to do everything in every situation.
- Joan Chittister, OSB, American religious writer
All wisdom is from the Lord, and with God it remains forever.
The sand of the sea, the drops of rain, and the days of eternity – who can count them?
The height of heaven, the breadth of the earth, the abyss,
And wisdom -- who can search them out?
Sirach 1: 1-3