I have the wind in my sails it seems lately, I’ve been making major changes in my life management which have allowed me to focus more on my top areas of concern – my marriage, my home and my greater connections outside of home such as community work, church and family. All of these changes have been incremental but God has been building in my life – and what a builder he is! I wanted to write a series about areas where I’m trying to grow in Godliness and character especially in regards to how I care for my home and today I will start with awareness.

I come back to a specific snapshot memory after 14 years with even a greater value for the teaching. I was 15 years and 11 months old- freshly given a work permit. I was wearing a newly made name tag which had spelled my name “Margret” not “‘Margaret” but the idea of correcting the busy woman who gave it to me seemed too intimidating. I was at an upscale restaurant to do the humble task of bussing tables, resetting them with fresh linen and or cut paper to size and to make sure all the cutlery and dishware was gleaming. I had never been in such a fast paced environment and on a busy Friday night I quickly lost my shadow (her name was Ronnie and she was not having been followed by a trainee) and was left to go it alone. As I timidly walked the restaurant I was so nervous to approach or clear a plate I looked straight ahead like a deer in headlights when a sharply dressed man (who was the owner and GM of this establishment) saw me he said “Are you a donkey?” I don’t think I said anything in response – he then said “well you are walking around with blinders on the sides of your eyes.” By looking straight ahead I missed the plates being set to the side and the work all around me. The job was tough, but I grew in grit and my work ethic became a great benefit to me, increasing my esteem with my coworkers, increasing my pay and increasing my satisfaction because I felt I brought excellence to the work – even if it was the “lowly” job of clearing tables. I guess I was able to improve from being a donkey!

So 14 years later, in my my loft in downtown Chicago I looked about me and I wondered had I put my blinders back on ?- and I truthfully knew I had. You see, when we have tunnel vision looking straight ahead how little we miss our small opportunities to do our jobs well – to see areas we can improve upon in ourselves and get to work, to see areas we can give, do and serve others and set forth in them with a sense of gumption and resolve. So what blinders did I have now? The blinders weren’t timidity, or lack of experience so much as they were at 15 but instead DISTRACTIONS!

You see I was filling my life with what I believe to be “falseness” I was doing what my husband Josh so aptly refers to as “fake work” I was scrolling Instagram, and Facebook (I don’t even have an account Josh does but we mostly share it) and I was online browsing from ads I clicked on. I was creating stories for Instagram, responding to emoji comments and harvesting likes and digital traffic. Meanwhile I wasn’t looking up and around but my shoulders were slumped and down in the digital universe.

I’m not Luddite, I believe God has gifted us the ability to make tools and tools are used by man to fit our own designs. We can use tools to gain in wisdom, skill and for enjoyment or connection but we can also use tools to our detriment and that of others. And for me what fell by the wayside when I was sucked into the digital sphere was those little extra things that matter so much! I told myself I was getting ideas, inspiration and connecting but that connection often felt hollow.

So stepping away from apps like Instagram, Facebook, and to a large extent Pinterest has given me a new awareness in my home. Awareness to the places I can improve – a bookcase to declutter and sort, a drawer that needs some attention, or an area I can clean deeply and refresh, a small project that I can plan for like painting my baseboards. As I stop looking for approval, attention, and affirmation from the “insta world” I can start looking for my purpose and meaning from the One who gave me life.

Now I don’t want to be prescriptive about how you use social media or any tool in your life. But I can say that awareness of what needs done around you in your home is much easier to have when you look up and invest your energy and effort into it. This is true of any area or your life you intend to improve. This new awareness has led me to take small steps forward daily and they all add up.

Wishing you well my dear friends and readers!

Margaret