Living a Faith-Filled Life

Mess Distress
The other day, a funny thing happened to me.  I walked into my kitchen and was overwhelmed by the mess. There were papers I had been sorting, leftover dishes and messes from canning the day before, stuff that needed to go downstairs, and more. That wasn't funny!

Strategy
At first I avoided it. But, all things must be dealt with eventually, so I decided I would just do a little at a time. I would do a little here and a little there, but not force myself to spend hours in the room. I also decided that a little music or TV would help. So, I found a radio, plugged it in, and found my local Christian radio station. Better, but it didn't clean for me!

Eventually, I gave up. I was tired (the afternoon slump plus not getting great sleep the night before) so I decided I could take a nap and then attack the mess later. Truthfully, I hoped the shoemaker's elves would come while I was sleeping. Other rooms needed my attention, too, so I could use a little extra help.

I woke up later, when my family got home. As I walked into the kitchen, I was amazed. It was pretty clean (not perfect, but soooo much better than before!) I asked my family who did it. I wanted to thank them. They looked at me like I was a little loopy. They hadn't done anything.

A Dream Come True
So, that leaves the shoemaker's elves or me. Seeing no tiny footprints, I questioned my family again and then came to the happy realization that I had done it!

I know, you're thinking I must be crazy for not realizing I had cleaned something.

I think what happened is that the original overwhelming feeling kept clinging to me. As I did one thing at a time - one little thing - I still felt like the task was too big. It wasn't until I got a different perspective that I realized I had climbed the mountain of mess in my kitchen. One step at a time.

Climb Every Mountain
You're going to find exasperating "messes" throughout the school year. It may be getting your room into shape at the beginning of the school year. It may be grading workbooks or getting ready for an open house. It may be updating files or setting up parent/teacher conferences.  Whatever it may be, you can do it, if you ignore the mountain and just do one thing at a time. Step by step, you'll reach your goal. 

When you're finished, you'll look back and realize that God has given you the strength to move mountains, one rock at a time.