Getting Rid of Excess

Learning that less is more

When I quit my job as an Employee Health Nurse, I assumed I would go from one job to another. There are hundreds of job openings, so getting another job shouldn’t be that hard….

But, God had other plans.

I am the type of person and will go with the flow of just about any plan– but I want to know what the plan is. I knew God was giving me permission to leave my job. It was VERY stressful and grew into a toxic work environment. I was bringing that stress home and it wasn’t fair to my family or myself. I need to get rid of it. I am very thankful to be in a position where I knew we could live on one income. We had done it for 7+ years before. We could do it again if we needed to.

What did I want to do with my life? Did I still want to be a nurse? I wasn’t sure. I am still not sure. I enjoyed having my own office at work. I enjoyed working with the spreadsheets I used to track everything. I loved being organized. And I was. At work. At home, my life was a mess. I never knew where anything was. The laundry and dishes were a never-ending monster I just couldn’t get on top of. I was a terrible housekeeper. Or was I??

What I have learned is that a good majority of my problem was that I was trying to do too much. I had too much to manage. Schedules, work, things, people. We are not made to do it all! This reminds us that we are not God. We need him and we need someone to constantly clean up the messes we make in our lives.

I have begun to try and get rid of excess in my life. Excess commitments, excess things, excess stress. Getting rid of excess has allowed me to begin to focus on what God has for me. What God wants for me. He wants me to take time every day with him. To read and listen to his Word. To spend time in prayer. When we have every minute of our day filled with commitments and things, it is easy to drown Him out!

I have been going through my house, room-by-room, getting rid of excess. Making my home a beautiful place that brings rest and peace, instead of chaos and clutter. I have listened to hours of the podcast by Dana K. White called “A slob comes clean”. She has taught me powerful insights on how to manage your home without losing your mind. (Which is the title of one of her books and it can be found on Amazon).