an extra dose of grace

So remember how I don't do well at receiving grace? Well, I got a second dose last week. A friend of mine *needed* something to do, so I volunteered a few jobs, and strangely she was game. My office has been a disaster since I moved in. It was the last room to be finished and was left with all the random extra boxes. I haven't had much time or energy and so was not very motivated to finish unpacking and organizing. And yet at the same time I felt extremely guilty every time I walked by it because it was such a mess and I *should* have had it done already.

Well, R came to help on Thursday and she was incredible. We talked for awhile and looked at the work the trustees had done on the parsonage and then she set to work. I left her in the office to work and did a bunch of random things around the house (like making a guest bed, putting drawer pulls on a dresser, cleaning the island in the kitchen and who knows what else). I would pop my head in on occasion to see how things were going. And strangely, for all the things I couldn't think of a place to put, R somehow found a place for everything. She worked and worked and cleaned and cleaned and within a couple hours, the boxes were empty, the shelves were organized and there was floor space. It was incredible! If you're unaccustomed to this kind of mess, then you probably wouldn't understand what a relief it is to have it taken care of.

As a thank you, I took her to lunch and then we swung by the church to drop off rummage and pick up a computer desk one of the trustees had offered me. It's big so I can use it to scrap book or sew or cut fabric, which is fabulous because I've been trying to figure out what table I would get/use in there for those purposes since the other desk is designated for computer work.

Having clutter is a majorly sensitive point in my life. I don't like dealing with it and I had to admit that it's something I struggle with. And to let her not only see it, but to deal with it was huge. Not something I'd let many people do. But R is good at cleaning and organizing, as is evidenced by my nice clean office.

After she finished with the majority of the room, there were still the shelves with all the craft items. She asked if i wanted her to take care of them or let me do it. I already felt bad for *making* her organize the rest and was tempted to say I'd do it, but in the back of my head, I knew it too would loom for months if it were left up to me, so I conceded and she did those too!

So now my office is clean and now each time I walk by my spirit lifts a little when I see an expanse of this: