Pile On

I grew up in a home with nothing on the counters. My mother kept the house immaculate, often cleaning our white kitchen floor two times a day and expecting us to do our part to help. Now as a parent, I resonate with the saying that "trying to clean up with children is like trying to brush your teeth while eating an Oreo." Piles here, piles there, piles everywhere. The worst part for a person obsessed with clean counters is that there’s no rhyme or reason to these piles. One pile could include a Lego car, some barbie clothes, a homework assignment, and a tax document. Another pile could be a half-finished craft project on top of the car keys, on top of 400 masks, on top of a laptop. I’m exaggerating…kind of. While my wife does her best to support my desire for pileless counters, during one of my exasperated decluttering raids, she grabbed both of my arms, looked me in the eyes with a beautiful smile and said very calmly, "Dan, everyone needs a place to dump their stuff. Like you and your car."

As I peered into the trunk of my car with great shame, I couldn’t help but think about where and how I "dump my stuff." In life and leadership, am I intentional about where I bring my pain, my frustration, my anger, or like my Oreo-loving children, do I spread it around indiscriminately? My goal as a leader and a disciple shouldn’t be to not have stuff, but rather to holy order that stuff and put it in the right place. Do I have a pile for the Lord? Do I even know what’s in it? The question is never whether He will help us go through it, but rather whether we’re ready to bring it to Him. Prayers for whatever you’re sorting through this week.