Consider the Trade

(Today’s blog post is a tiny snapshot from the book I’m working on, “The Best Yes.”)

I remember watching a TV show a couple of years ago where an expert lady was instructing a messy lady about how to get organized. I was fascinated.

I am so prone to be the messy lady.

But I want to be the organized lady.

The organized lady taught her lessons and then decided to help the messy lady implement what they’d just discussed. So, the next scene was the messy lady revealing for all the world to see, her closet.

I could tell from the expression on expert lady’s face, she was pleased for such a dramatic situation. Drama makes for good TV because crazy people like me stay tuned in.

And this closet was crazy.

Kind of like mine was at the time.

The expert lady swirled and twirled about like a fairy godmother commanding the wrong items be taken out and the right items be placed in color coded order. I sat there fascinated by how her expert mind could so clearly see potential in this crazy space and know how to do all that needed to be done to turn it into a dream closet.

The final scene was the big reveal to messy lady.

She “oohed” and “aahed” over the progress made. And though she’d resisted the expert lady during the process of needing to get rid of many things, the final outcome was so worth it.

Then the expert lady made the ex-messy lady hold her hand up and pledge one final thing before the show ended. She repeated these words to the expert, “I promise before adding anything new, I will make space by getting rid of something first.”

A silly show about organizing became a great lesson on considering the trade.

If we refuse to release before we add, we will get overloaded.

Ex-messy lady can’t expect to keep that beautifully redone closet beautiful, if she starts adding more and more to it.

I can’t expect to have room for my best yes opportunities, if I refuse to release the clutter.

Now, here’s what’s hard. Here’s where the ex-messy lady struggled. And here’s the reason I sat on my couch observing other people getting organized rather than walking into my closet and actually implementing what I was learning.

How do we discern what to call clutter and what to keep?

And obviously, this applies to much more than just my closet.

Gracious. This is where I get tripped up over and over. I second-guess my decisions because the fear of release paralyzes me into never taking the first step.

That purple shirt is great. I like it a lot.

But I haven’t worn it in over a year.

But is that because it was hidden amongst lots of other stuff? Or because I just don’t feel drawn to wear a purple shirt most days?

If I get rid of it and then need it, I’ll just kick myself. I don’t want to have to eventually buy another one when this one is perfectly good. So, maybe I should keep it just in case.

But then maybe I should keep everything just in case.

After all, it wouldn’t be in my closet if I didn’t think it was great when I bought it. Oh, organizing my closet is just too hard.

So, I trade having an organized closet for a purple shirt I’ll probably never wear again.

Yikes.

That’s not a good trade. Ever.

We must get good at considering the trade – and not just for our closet.

Psalm 119:35-37 is a great set of verses to pray as we seek God and consider the best yes choices for our lives:

“Direct me in the path of your commands, for there I find delight. Turn my heart toward your statutes and not toward selfish gain. Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word.”

Let’s talk about this.

Have you ever failed to consider the trade?

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