NOT ONE IS MISSING

I’ll admit it—I hate clutter, I hate disorder, and I hate confusion. Four different calendars—each one dedicated to a specific part of my life—keep me on schedule. I feel like one of those folks who stand up in a meeting and acknowledge their weakness. My name is Connie and I’m an organizer.

Recently I decided to reorganize the closet in my office. The space was no longer functional or efficient so I headed to my favorite toy store—Staples—and stocked up on dividers,, sectioned organizers, plastic bins that pulled out like drawers, canisters to hold all manner of small items, bookends, and tiered trays. Then, of course I needed a variety of mailers, labels, envelopes, folders, and binders. For the next twenty-four hours I was in organizer’s bliss. I cleaned out and discarded stuff I didn’t need, purged files, I grouped things into categories, and planned the most efficient use of my space. I made labels for everything. I was as happy as a flea on a hound dog.

Some of you are rolling your eyes. You think I’m unbalanced to enjoy a task like that. If you only knew how different I am now from the way I was as a kid.

In my early years, I shared a room with my older sister. She was a neatnik (still is!) and I was a slob. We were like the odd couple—She was Felix and I was Oscar. I drove her nuts. She used to draw a line down the center of our room and kick all my sloppy mess over on my side of the line. I couldn’t have cared less if my side of the room was a wreck. But people change . . .

When I got older and could never find things or forgot about things, couldn’t finish what I started and let stuff fall through the cracks, I didn’t like the way that made me feel. I knew I had to do something but I didn’t know where to begin. Then, when I was still a newlywed, I attended a workshop about the virtuous wife, or the infamous Proverbs Thirty-one Woman.

Yikes!!! That woman scared the beejeebers out of me. There was no way I could live up to an example like that. So I avoided reading Proverbs thirty-one. Just pretended that woman didn’t exist. Because she didn’t—at least not in my house. But I found other verses that caught my attention.

“Commit your works to the Lord, and your thoughts will be established.” Proverbs 16:3
“A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps.” Proverbs 16:9
Now that was something I could do. Commit my hands and my energy to God and let Him make order out of my chaos. Approaching the organizational tasks from that perspective took the pressure off me because God was the one in charge.

But when I read Isaiah 40:25-26 I was in awe of the way God “organizes” His universe. “To whom then will you liken Me, or to whom shall I be equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high, and see who has created these things, who brings out their host (stars) BY NUMBER; HE CALLS THEM ALL BY NAME, by the greatness of His might, and the strength of His power; NOT ONE IS MISSING.”
I’m not even a grain of sand in God’s grand scheme of things. I can’t number the stars and I certainly can’t call each one by name. But I can ask God to bless the work of my hands and help me do things decently and in order. I can give God my best—and if my best is cleaning out a drawer or a closet, if doing my best means organizing files or keeping track of important documents, I can do that. God expects me to do the best I can with the abilities He has given me, but the result isn’t up to me.

Yeah, sometimes I get a little obsessive about having everything in its place, but I’ve already experienced what will happen if I don’t stay organized. I don’t want to go back to the days of Felix and Oscar.

Thanks for letting me share my heart.