Please, do NOT take a picture of that mess!
I will give you this kinder, and gentler photo instead.
There are certain areas of my home that I just cannot seem to keep in order.
I read Nan’s post today “Ladies, It's Time to Stop Beating Ourselves Up” which lead to me writing this post.
She writes, “Stop talking to yourself as if you're the enemy. You're not. You're in this together, both of you: the you who you WANT to be and the you who you ARE now.”
The other day, my new neighbor came over asking to borrow our ladder. I went to the garage, which was open because it was our weekly workday, telling my neighbor to wait at the doorway because I did not want her to trip over the mess of boxes and laundry. My laundry was strewn across the garage floor because I was in the process of my main washing day.
It takes quite a bit of work to maneuver the 20 ft. extendable ladder. I knocked over several things in the process and tripped over several, as well. I was slightly embarrassed about the mess, but I did not apologize to my neighbor for it.
In the past, I would have been humiliated and would have apologized for the mess, explaining why the garage looked the way it did. I have grown beyond that. Praise the Lord!
I try to clean that garage weekly, and no matter how much I try, it always seems to be a disaster. It is my laundry room, the computer room, the playroom, my husband’s workshop, and the only storage area for this family of seven in our 1248 sq. ft. home.
Formerly, the garage door being left open, exposing my mess to the world (neighborhood), would have upset me, provoking me to express to my husband how distraught it made me. I finally stopped comparing my life to everyone else’s. I KNOW how much I try. Everyone else probably does not. It does not matter anymore. I have stopped beating myself up over it, which makes me a happier person and a more pleasant wife and mother.
If we work in the spirit of love (including loving ourselves), everyone is blessed even when things are not so perfect.
~~~♥~~~