“Where do we even start on the daily walk of restoration and awakening? We start where we are.”
Anne Lamott
Restore, I pray you, to them, even this day, their lands, their vineyards, their oliveyards, and their houses, also the hundredth part of the money, and of the corn, the wine, and the oil, that ye exact of them.
Nehemiah 5:11
Ever have a pipe burst? The yarn shop had it happen twice in a year’s time. We scrambled to make sure the damage was limited and that the yarn was safe. The company hired to deal with the water did their job. Emergency resolved we took a look around. The front of the store was fine for business, but the back looked like a war zone. Boxes and stacks of things pulled from the water were piled everywhere. Some things needed to dry, others needed to be trashed, and still others needed to be reorganized. It was a bit overwhelming. Where did we need to start?
Restoration Begins
Nehemiah had led the people to do what he had set out to do: rebuild the walls and gates. The city was secure from the outside but what about the inside. As soon as the emergency was over, Nehemiah was faced with a different set of problems. The inside of the city was a mess. Jews had been taking advantage of other Jews. They had been breaking many of God’s other commands as well. The people came to him with their problems and concerns.
The KJV translation says Nehemiah “consulted with himself” about the situation, and then he confronted the guilty parties. He demanded that they restore the people what had been taken from them. Eventually, Nehemiah would begin a more detailed restoration of the people’s spiritual lives as well as finishing restoration of the city, but for now he was starting where he was.
Just Start
The Fly Lady is a website dedicated to helping people get out of CHAOS (Can’t Have Anyone Over Syndrome) because of a cluttered and dirty home. She has many tips and schedules to help you get back on track, but she makes it clear that the chaos didn’t happen overnight and it can’t be corrected in a day. It will take some time. She likes to say you are not behind, just start where you are.
When faced with the chaos at the shop, we started with what I like to call organizational triage. After doing a quick review, we pulled out everything that was beyond salvageable and hauled it off to the trash. Everything else was given a rough sort based on what needed to be done. Then, we took one stack at a time.
One Thing
It can be overwhelming when we look at situations in our life, whether it’s physical chaos or spiritual chaos. The trick is to pick one thing that you can do and start. You may not be able to clean the whole house, but you can load the dishwasher. You may not be able to run a marathon, but you can walk to the mailbox. You may not be able to climb spiritual mountains, but you can read a Psalm and say a prayer for strength.
I have found that if I just do the one thing that my ability and desire to do more are sure to follow. But, don’t think about that yet. Just think about the one thing and start. The rest will follow eventually. Restoration is a daily walk, and you start with baby steps. So, take the first step and give yourself a pat on the back when you finish. Each step gets us closer to the goal, whatever it may be. In the meantime, don’t forget to look around and admire what’s been done. Tomorrow will take care of itself. Just take “One Day at a Time.”
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And from the chaos of the water damage came an even better organized store.
One of my all-time favorite sayings during my career was, “Remember, you eat an elephant one bite at a time.” Like you, you determine your starting point, then keep taking one bite at a time until you complete the task. Great analogy Ms. Linda.