Organizing the Unexpected

When the snow storm hit last month, it did not occur to me that it would be as harsh, rip down as many trees and power lines or be as dangerous.  Living in Massachusetts for ten years as a family has made us more hearty and we frequently don silly but warm hats and ridiculously big boots and drive through a foot of snow without question.  This storm, however, was a jolt to my organized system.  Or, should I say, to my system that gets befuddled if NOT organized?

It was shocking to learn how bad the storm's effects were when my husband stopped to call me at work to say he and my son just saw a massive tree crash into the road sixty feet from their car.  Telling me that our power would likely be out for three to five days disappointed me but I jumped into organizing mode, only to realize I was organizing the wrong things!  Making lists of what to bring to my mother-in-law's was helpful to make sure my son had his homework and we had our toothbrushes but did not cover all that I needed. 

I found it challenging to focus on how grateful I was to have a warm, friendly place to stay at my mother-in-law's and that she has an extra freezer for our frozen food.  I packed clothing, pet food, and even our African dwarf frogs but sometimes forgot to bring my gratitude that we did not have to stay in a house whose temperature registered 50 degrees!  Instead, I lamented that I misplaced items with all the back-and-forth between our home to clean up the decimated tree limbs and my mother-in-law's home.  I sometimes forgot to organize my thoughts into relief that my husband and son were missed by the tree and instead worried about the inconvenience we felt.  It was easy to forget the lessons that my son taught me about UNICEF this Halloween and how many children can be helped with a small donation that can supply clean water, protein biscuits and vaccinations.  Some children never have electricity.  

We can organize our thoughts as much as our things but often do not.  It takes work because, like our things, our thoughts get jumbled, placed into the wrong piles or grow into larger piles than they should.  Unlike our items, however, our thoughts move and flow without our wishing for them to do so!  Imagine if laundry could throw itself around your home like that.  Shudder.

Prayer helped.  Putting everything back in its place helped when we finally came back to a warm home.  Talking to and supporting my neighbor whose tree crashed through her home's roof helped.  Thanking God that she, her family and my husband and son were safe definitely helped.  Sometimes, we just have to take our thoughts, shake them out, fold them neatly, and put them back where they belong - with what matters in our lives and in the world.