I started on this journey to find a greater purpose with my time, my stuff, my money – my life.  I knew when I started that God has so much more in store for me that getting stuck in the rut of everyday life and allowing the demands of obligations, commitments and expectations to bring me down and consume me.  I knew that I had become overwhelmed the demands on me at work, within my family as well as my own expectations of what I should be doing and I needed to take a timeout and regroup!

I am thankful for posts on blogs and Facebook that I read back in the fall that gave tips on how to “Simplify Life”.  I am thankful that it planted the seed I needed to have a desire to do something about how I was using my days and work on clearing out the things that don’t matter or are weighing me down so I can make room in my schedule, in my budget and with my energy to do the things I am truly passionate about.  I have discovered that I am like many others that have gotten to the point of being overwhelmed through many years of taking on more than I should, trying to please those around me, and stretching myself too thin.  I have learned that it will not be something that is changed quickly or easily which is why the “A Simple Year” online course has been a perfect way to start tackling it.  It is amazing how each small part of my life that I clear away the clutter from, I am finding such joy and blessings.

I started with clearing clutter in the house.  I always have loved clear counters, clear floors, clear desk and other clear surfaces.  It creates a sense of accomplishment for me and provides the area I need to work when a project comes up.  I also tackled my closet.  I went through all of my Fall and Winter clothes and only kept the ones in the closet that fit and that I loved wearing.  It made it so much easier to get up and going in the morning and find something to wear.  I tackled my schedule – since I had been so sick as I started this project and didn’t have energy to do much more than go to work, come home, fix dinner and go to bed, I allowed this drastic change to be my catalyst .  I only allowed the items back in my schedule that I truly had energy and time to do.  I limited dinner with friends to only once a week.  I kept weekend plans to a minimum so I actually had time to recharge.  I now don’t have to say I am too busy to do something because as my energy came back and I am able to do more, I have the spaces still available in my schedule.   There are still times when multiple commitments creep back in too close and too fast but the good thing about this overall mindset is that my upcoming weeks and months are not so jammed packed that I can’t adjust when they do.  I also have started looking for new things to explore – blogging, changing my eating and finding a healthier lifestyle.  Each one is only possible because I have cleared away some of the clutter that previously occupied my time.

Two scriptures that have become very meaningful to me recently are:

1 Corinthians 10:23 – “Everything is permissible but not everything is beneficial.  Everything is permissible but not everything is constructive.”

I know that I can do anything I want to do but doing everything at once is not beneficial or constructive, in fact it will wear me down and cause me not to be able to do the important things.

Hebrews 12:11 – “No discipline seems pleasant at the time but painful.  Later on however it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.”

Whether you are training for a big race or training for being better at this race of life, you need discipline to do what needs to be done each day and week so you can see the improvement along the way.  Each step of this journey may not be easy but staying the course and doing the little things along the way bring a great harvest in weeks and months to come.  Clearing the “clutter” months ago and keeping it clear have helped me be able to tackle new challenges today.  I wonder what fruit will come from the harvest in the next few months.

This morning I went for a walk  – part of my finding a healthier lifestyle and I love walking down by the lake in my neighborhood.  As I rounded the corner around the end of the lake, I realized that I had more bounce in my step and was not tired, so for the first time since moving here I decided to make a second lap and not just continue through the neighborhood streets.  I was overwhelmed with joy of what it meant to make a second lap around the lake – I had the time, the energy and the stamina to do it and loved the extra minutes on my walk.  It is moments like this that I know that the culmination of working on many areas of my life to find a simpler, more meaningful life this year are helping me see the fruits of that harvest.