A Standard of Grace
I think one of the hardest parts of having a chronic illness is the “chronic” part. The fact that it just doesn’t go away. It wears on your mind, body, and emotions, because everything inside you yearns for a relief. And being raised with a very holistic mindset, I keep thinking that I AM going to track down the root of this crazy group of symptoms, only to find myself a few months later: exhausted, broke, and still suffering.
And then I look around me. At everything that I “let go” while I’ve been feeling so rough. Every room of the house screams that my family has been in survival mode too long, lacking my attention. Stacks and stacks of paper. Laundry bursting at the seams with mismatched socks, clothes from a whole different season, and plenty of the outdoors brought inside. Junk drawers that barely open. Cabinets with their contents all out of order. Duplicates of things we couldn’t find because things weren’t in their place.
So I’ve slowly been trying to dig my way out of the disorder, to focus on purging and organizing my poor house. And do you know what’s really helped? Pinterest! I have found so many great ideas on there that helped me with organization and storage ideas.
No more loose photos scattered all over!
Somehow I discovered Cathy Anderson of JustOrganizeYourStuff.com via Pinterest and her website helped me helped me decide which area to tackle first. I started with our home office because we really needed to get some storage in there and I HAD to wade through those papers for tax time anyway. Her free Ebook, Blueprint:JOYS the Creative Outline for a Home Filing System (and a good friend) helped me start wading through my papers and clear off the top of my desk for the first time in a VERY long time!
But our office really needed some storage if I was going to keep things tidy. Fortunately, I’d been “pinning” ideas for Making Use of Barn Wood since we have plenty of barn wood available.
I love the mix of old and new, beauty and practicality, with my barn wood shelves.
This pin was the inspiration for the shelving in our office. Although ours turned out a little more like this. I totally love my shelves. I love that they are made from wood from one of our old barns. Rustic charm? Oh yes, I love it!
And while the joy of Pinterest has been a lovely inspiration, there’s a part of me that always sees how much MORE needs to be done or how we could have done things differently. But Pinterest came to the rescue again. Emily Ley’s graphic reminds me to hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection. What a beautiful thought. (You can print a copy from her website in either pink of blue! Don’t you love options?!)
Graphic by EmilyLey.com
Even though the ink was running low in my printer, I printed a grainy copy to put on my fridge. I wanted it printed on a glossy photo paper to highlight the simple, but elegant bright crisp graphic. And I even thought I’d put it in a distressed shabby chic white frame. It was picture-perfect in my head.
But I used what I had on hand and reminded myself that I would hold myself to a standard of grace, not perfection. Maybe later I can replace the ink and do the graphic justice, but for now my very imperfect blurry copy serves as a perfect reminder to me.
I’ll be sharing more of the projects that we’ve done that were inspired by Pinterest in the coming days. If you haven’t joined Pinterest yet, and would like an invitation, just let me know in the comments and I’ll send you one. Initially I couldn’t figure out the interest in Pinterest, but once I got on there looking for some quotes to use for a Christmas gift, I totally fell in love with it!
I think Pinterest makes the Internet a more lovely place.
Wow, those first couple paragraphs could have come straight from my mind and house! So glad you’ve been able to get your office revived. That must feel good!
Pinterest has been popping up a lot lately. At first I just thought, uh oh, another internet “thing” to distract me. But I’m going to check out your links. You always inspire me!
Thanks, Chris. You’re always such an encouragement to me with your comments. Making visual progress around the house HAS been wonderful. I just keep reminding myself of how much better each little section is. Little things DO make a difference!
Dear Sweet Nancy,
Everytime I read your blog I hope for improvement for you for your chronic illness. I have no words except to say that I am sorry that you are going through this. As your sister in Christ, I would take it away for you if I could. Much love to you and your family!
Love,
Jenn
Thanks, Jenn. The fact that you care, and love me and my family through this, is enough. Thanks so much for commenting. It helps me feel connected, ya know?
hey! i finally made it over! Can’t tell you how many times i’ve said “the problem with chronic pain is that it’s so chronic!” Yep, girl, you speak my language. Love your ideas too–i also have an issue with “organization or a lack thereof”… your tag made me laugh! i have an ever-mounting mountain of paperwork at my desk area, blecch. i’ll go check out some of the links you posted, so thanks for those.
i’m finally starting to see some results of my last year of work on my physical well-being at the gym. You know how slowly we fibromyalgics must start any such thing. It’s finally beginning to have an impact on my energy levels and i’m able to be more active than i was last February when i started. Of course, in the back of my mind is the thought: “but what if it’s a fluke and next week i’m back to Exhaustion City?” i’d imagine you know whereof i speak.
Grace IS essential, isn’t it?