What Matters Most

I love that God creates people with different strengths that glorify Him and help people.  I was blessed recently by one sister in Christ, Melanie Schroepfer.

Melanie came over to help me organize our family memorabilia: pictures, letters, awards, baby clothes, cards, and so on. It was a mess! And it's been that way for two decades. In between babies, moving and mental illness, I just never got around to organizing it. Which is weird since I'm super organized. My kids are 17 and almost 19 and have no baby books. Uuugh. After years of accumulation, I was overwhelmed. Each time I started to organize our memorabilia, I stopped.

Then Melanie arrived. She gave me some terrific ideas about sorting. But the ONE thing I remember most is her challenge: "Ask yourself when you look at something, 'How much do I value this?'" What do I cherish and treasure? Because you can't keep it all or you'd never find it. 

Melanie's question is the principle I'm using to sort. For example, I tossed the press releases and newspaper articles I wrote as a journalist. I don't need to keep them to remember how much I enjoyed my career. But I'm holding onto the high school essay I wrote about my father's love of flowers. 

I dreaded this project for years, but it has been so sweet to find things like the cassette tape of my interview of my Granny in 1995. Just hearing her voice again! I have poured through my children's drawings, pictures of dear friends, and family heirlooms. I'm not a keeper. I'm not particularly sentimental. But I feel like I am digging up old treasure. And I wasn't expecting the JOY of rediscovering these things.

I would not be experiencing that joy had God not prompted Melanie Schroepfer to help. It was clearly God ordained. I e-mailed to see if we could meet for lunch while she is in between jobs as a business analyst. But Melanie remembered my earlier plea for prayer about this memorabilia project and came over to get me going. She is exactly the person I needed and God knew that.

I am left thinking: How can I help someone in a similar way? Am I open to the Holy Spirit's leading in this? Lord, use me.

My other thought is simply an echo of Melanie's challenge to me: What do you value? What matters most? Whatever it is, ladies, get to it!



- Kathryn Truden