ROY G. BIV

It was one of those days when my mind was a mess. Perhaps it was the disorder around me, or maybe as I slowly awoke to the early morning light I did not ask God to turn each moment into a blessing, or maybe it was just one of those days. At the end of the day, thanks to friends (The Comforter, you recall) I did have a lot of laughter but oh my, throughout the day..so. many. tears.

It is always the little things. Mindlessly taking  my car in for service. The sadness of the sweet girl who had set up our service for over 2 decades. The memories of going to lunch and doing ordinary things after every service appointment. I forgot to log into my memory bank that through her sadness, her story of how Roger would wait in a long line just to let her set up his service made her feel so special.

Ah...it was one thing after another all day long. I think the reality was hitting that he was not off on a trip, but he really was not going to be with me for the rest of my journey on earth. Bam.

The grandkiddos were a wonderful distraction for me. Emily knew I was out of sorts and we talked about how we missed him, and then turned to the way he always made us laugh. That was probably as good for her as it was for me!

By the time I got home last night, I was still out of sorts, so what did I do...well, one who knows me pretty well would say..."she has something that needs to be done, so of course she is cleaning out her sock drawer!"   Ha! I do that. The 'sock drawer' is any little project that needs organizing that will take me away from anything I don't want to face up to doing. My house may look a wreck, but buddy, you can open any drawer or closet in my home and BE AMAZED!

I met ROY G. BIV many many years ago..as a teen, I imagine. He has been my friend ever since.  Check out Roger's shirts. ROY G. BIV.  (Actually, almost everything I organize is ROY G. BIV...or ABC) My closet became a dumping ground for anything I could not deal with two weeks ago. My closet is NEVER a mess.  So last night, with the chimes approaching midnight, out it came. Spring cleaning was on the agenda anyway, so I lightened the load. I knew I had to face up to one big project in the closet anyway,  and I was dreading it. But every time I entered, and this started in full force that fateful morning....his clothes, my loss, the tears!

By 2 AM I was in much better shape. I have his favorites in the closet and all of the excess has been moved elsewhere. I have a little part of him still here and I will deal again when I need to deal again, but I have order in this one little area of my being. And I go into that closet every morning, and guess what, this morning, it is already better.

The lesson from this teary day? I think it is to be sure you start your day asking God to point you to the blessings, do more listening than talking to Him, and do your best to keep your 'house' in order.
I have some more reflecting to do to be sure!

And this....it is ok to get rid of stuff. We have too much of it anyway, particularly in America.  Roger traveled lightly and it always frustrated him when his (modest but adequate) portion of OUR closet was too stuffed.  It is spring cleaning time, and we had already had the conversation about lightening the closet load.  Well, that is complete now, and I feel a lot better. And it actually was not like tearing him out of my life. It actually was like keeping the best of him in it! (Only his FAVORITE items remain!)

So today...take 15 minutes and clean out a sock drawer. It will really help to clear your head. And you don't have to turn your whole life upside down to do it.  In a way, when you remove the stuff of your life, you have a whole lot more room for God to work in your life.

And that is the kind of day I hope to have today.