This morning at Starbucks I did not have to write a sermon for this weekend, so I decided to knock out a task that has been plaguing me for quite a while - cleaning out a cluttered inbox. I spent the better part of 3 hours sorting, filing, and deleting emails that dated back to May 2006. Now that the task is complete I feel a great sense of relief, like a burden has been lifted off my back - perhaps I can walk a little taller this afternoon because of this.
As I looked back thru 12+ months of emails, I was able to pray for some people who have touched my life and who have been touched by the ministry that I am part of. Some of the emails were strange, some were pointless, but most were meaningful in their appropriate context. So what did I learn from cleaning out my inbox...
Put things in their proper place...
My life is not always the most organized thing in the world (come see my office and you'll agree) so having a system that helps put the things I need to function in a place where I can find them quickly is essential. Also, organization is not something you can do once and forget about, you must continue to work at organization. I know that I need to spend a few minutes each day (and perhaps an hour or so a week) organizing, so that I can stay organized.
Take time to remember and reflect...
Often life flies by so fast that we can hardly take a breath as we finish one project and move to another. Taking time to remember what is important and who is important in your life will continue to give your life meaning and purpose - and it will probably keep you sane. Remember those who have touched your life recently and not so recently - tell them thanks and that you are a better person because of their contributions to their life.
When things get overwhelming, stop and pray...
It took me a year (and then some) to take the time to clean out my inbox and things were at the point where I had more messages that needed to be deleted than kept. My email was at an overwhelming point and I had to stop whatever else I was doing and focus completely on that, just to get it done. Sometimes in life we just get so caught up in keeping up with our pace of life that we run constantly. Take some time to push pause and talk with God. Talk about everything and anything that's swamping you because our God can handle our problems with ease. Prayer is our release valve when the steam of life builds pressure under the lid. If you don't open the valve and let off some steam, there's gonna be an explosion and it isn't gonna be pretty.
Anyone feeling like cleaning out their email?
Grace&Peace
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