Get Reminded About Your Destiny

The end of the year was filled with lots of entertaining for our household - probably more consecutive visits than we have had in our entire lives. And with all of the food, fellowship and fun always comes a few other lessons intended and otherwise.

For example, don't do your laundry with 13 people in your house. I thought I was simply being on top of my home chores when in reality I was dooming my 8 year old to a cold bath. Opps.

Then of course, the match game. I had failed to pay attention to matching towels and wash cloths as my husband had been putting away laundry for weeks. Hello - I know I own several sets of matching and guest towels, but when you have company is not the best time to find them!!!! Lesson learned. I type this post after consecutive loads of white towels to ensure that those items disappear to matching heaven, in the closet that we don't frequent.

But... the most simple of lessons came from the mouth of an 8 year old guest. She commented about my pantry when she had visited about 8 months ago - a childlike chuckle over the rows and columns that I had. I heartily admitted with our last minute shopping and hosting more people than we could count on our hands....that order was out the window. Not true, not true.

Yesterday, as my husband did the dishes and gave me a compliment that made my heart melt (about our home and my hospitality - although our house is indeed a work in progress), I started looking through my cabinets. The order that was there a bit ago wasn't tossed out, it was just a tad bit flustered. With a 1 hour investment, I have a pantry, seasoning cabinet, pasta station and spice shelf representative of the home I desire to have. That's a lot in 1 hour. the truth is, it was still in order from what I had originally established, even if it hadn't received the love and attention necessary in recent weeks. The foundation was firmly in tact.

1. I throw out the things I would not use again.
2. I discarded whatever was half opened and was paste its shelf life.
3. I turned the staples facing the front, in size order. (priorities, priorities)
4. I returned things to the place that they belonged.
5. I made an assessment of what I had, what I needed, and what I used most often. 1 hour.

I can draw parallels with just about anything, but this spoke to me about order in our lives and our destiny. When you have a firm foundation, you can be rocked without losing your core. A storm may come but you don't have to succumb to it. From time to time we just have to get reminded about our destiny. Some folks may think I've really invested too much in the rows and columns of my cabinets. I was simply reminded that a gentle nudge can put you closer to your destiny. I like what I like, and order can be comforting.

I have always wanted to entertain. I have always wanted to be prepared for anything that would come up. I have always wanted to live in a home that was warm, not for other people, but to be able to include others without being turned on my ear. We are getting closer to that nowadays - but its because we are getting closer to our destiny. When we think about our priorities and what we want to accomplish, more things line up than scream "Change me, Change me." And with the soft encouragement of a few 8 year olds (including my child saying that she valued the cleanliness of her room because it gave her peace), I was reminded about my own destiny.

It is 2008 and there is no time to be wasted. Destiny is as much about where you are, as where you aspire to be. We are in a pretty good place - warts and all - and our future is bright, because our foundation is indeed in order.

Do you need to be reminded about your destiny? Do you understand your purpose? Where are you headed, and how will you get there? Let this serve as your gentle nudge...it is 2008. What are you doing to ensure that your foundation is in order and the best is yet to come? However you get there and whatever you need to do, know that I can't wait to celebrate with you.

I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and I will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what shall I answer when I am reproved. And the Lord answered me, and said, "Write the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry."

—Habakkuk 2:1-3, King James Bible