Whitwer - I Used to Be So Organized: Help for Reclaiming Order and Peace

I remember the day I first felt it. Vividly. And I can say without hesitation that I did not like the foreign feeling at all.

I Being a put-together galthe kind always elected to be in charge in both high school and collegeI was used to being at the top of my game organizationally. Like Grandma had preached, I had a place for everything and everything in its place. I was a stickler for scheduling, a craver of order. Managing my time well and keeping my belongings in check made me feel in control and accomplished.

So, when it came along, well, I was completely thrown for a loop.

What was this horrible condition that caused me to break out in hives and run for the hills? Just what was it? It was the feeling of utter disorganization, of hopelessness due not only to mess but to a messed up schedule as well. When it hit, it had me uttering the words I thought Id never hear myself say: But... I used to be so organized!

Now what on earth could have happened to throw off my timing, plunging me into a downward spiral of dejection and sending me tenaciously tottering near the edge? Illness? Catastrophe? A flood or fire? Nope. Something that is very simple, really.

One morning upon arising I discovered... the stick turned blue!

Yes, blessed motherhood. What a privilege? What an honor. Come on, let's be real girlfriends. What a headache! Whether you became a mom by giving birth or by making the trek to bring your precious child home from the adoption agency, you all know what I'm talking about. No sooner than we lined all our ducks up in a row, along comes one of our kiddos (or their father perhaps) to knock them all down forcing us to start all over again!

But the it is different for everyone. Perhaps for others of you it is brought on by a change of employmentthat fantastic new job that also takes a fantastic amount of time, time you used to have to spend on your personal life keeping things running along smoothly. Or maybe it is a relocation in residence, an ill relative, or aging parent. No matter the loop you've been thrown, you too may feel it craftily creeping into your formerly organized self.

Oh, how I wish years ago Id cradled in my hands the volume you now hold. My dear friend Glynnis Whitwer knows all too well the feeling of being an in charge gal. She is truly one of the most intelligent, insightful, and capable women I know.

It will make you love her all the more when you realize she also readily admits this reality: she doesn't always have it all together. She too, as an author, a home business owner, and editor of the Proverbs 31 WomanMagazine, still struggles with missed appointments, lost items, and class treats that never got made. She too struggles with feelings of inadequacy, apprehension, and even sometimes fears of failure.

But Glynnis also understands a very crucial fact. She knows just where to go with her feelings of helplessness. Her encouraging words, clever ideas, and biblical insight will send you running to the only Author of perfection. Her warm, vulnerable, I've been there style will gently point you to the One in whom we can find our sense of worth. Not in what we accomplish each day, but in what he already accomplished at the cross.

So grab a cup of something hot and get ready to be encouraged bya girlfriend who will come along side you. Her motivating ideas will give you something to shoot for, yet her graceful and grace-filled demeanor will help you to know you aren't always going to get it all donenot all of the time.

Glynnis will help you finally strike that delicate balance between doing and being, all the while showing you how to put God and your loved ones first.

Oh sweet sister... you are in for a treat. Turn the page and enjoy!