The store that I work in was in the process of moving locations. I have moved my home to a new location before but it was the first time I had been involved in the move of a store. Neither of these are my idea of fun!
It took days to get everything packed and although it didn’t seem like it at the time, this was the easy part of the move. Far more difficult was unpacking and finding the right spot for everything. This is even more of a challenge when moving to a smaller location. As I stood, surrounded by boxes, I was overwhelmed. Not knowing where to start caused me to panic and instead of getting to work, I froze, afraid that this was more than I could cope with.
Thinking about this later I recalled the many times I have been in this kind of situation. Part of the problem is having too much stuff. It collects slowly, without me noticing it, and one day I realize that all of this is cluttering up my life and causing me to be overwhelmed and stressed.
It isn’t always a physical change of location that causes this feeling. There have been things I have wanted to do in my life that I am unable to start because of emotions and limiting beliefs that are cluttering up my mind. The only sensible thing to do is to purge. The trouble is that when I reach that state, I want to retreat and hide, not to face things head on.
Instead of letting things build up to this point, I need to remember to continually bring my life to the Lord and rely on his guidance. He will teach me what to hold onto and what to let go of. He constantly watches over me and sees the whole picture, not just the part I am stuck on. My role in this is to pray and ask for his guidance and then trust as I wait for his answer.
The Lord says, “I will instruct you. I will teach you the way that you should go. I will advise you as my eyes watch over you.” Psalm 32:8