silverware drawer

When my fourth baby was born, my mother and little sister came for a visit. I was totally overwhelmed with the responsibilities of my growing little family and was grateful for their help, although I was a very diligent homemaker and had managed to keep on top of everything. Everything that is, except the silverware drawer. It had been a wreck for months, I felt glad I could even keep the dishes clean. My teenage sister took it upon herself to organize my silverware drawer for me, sorting the utensils into their proper places. It was beautiful. It stayed that way while she was there to help, but within two days after she left, it was back to chaos in there. A year or so later I managed to get on top of things enough to keep that place in order, too.

I’ve thought of that drawer many times over the years. It was a symbol of the threshold of my capabilities, the limit of what I could cope with. At the time I felt bad about my inability to keep it in order. But I’ve come to think of it as a symbol of my priorities. It was OK for me to let the silverware drawer go, for it meant I was on top of something else, lots of things actually, far more important. We read the scriptures together as a family every morning, I sewed clothes, cut hair, washed dishes, changed diapers, folded laundry, bathed bodies, brushed teeth, made bread, sang songs, read stories, nurtured and taught precious little spirits, prepared fabulous meals every day and kept our home clean and orderly, a place where the Spirit was comfortable. I worked hard! Yes, I like order, who doesn’t? But when it is more than we can comfortably handle, when it interferes instead of contributes, it really is OK to just “let it go” for a time.