Piles To Go Before I Sleep - The One Year Sweet and Simple Moments with God Devotional

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. . . . A time to keep and a time to throw away.

Ecclesiastes 3:1, 6

At some point in my education I had to memorize Robert Frost’s famous poem “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening.” I like the images that the poet created, but to be honest, that’s not my life. Forgive me, Mr. Frost. I’ve changed the last two lines of your poem from “miles to go before I sleep” to “piles to go before I sleep, and piles to go before I sleep.” That’s a truer description of what I face each day.

Can you relate? Many of us have big and small piles around us, whether they’re on the desk, in the sink, or by the bed—piles of papers, piles of dishes, or piles of reading materials. If you are a crafts person, you might have piles of projects, piles of photos, or piles of fabric. If you are into the latest beauty products, you might have accumulated piles of lipstick (that really won’t come off when you eat!) or piles of “age defying” makeup.

There is nothing wrong with material things. There is a time to keep things and a time to throw them away (Ecclesiastes 3:6). Anything around us that distracts us from God’s specific plan for our lives is clutter and needs to be discarded. I think it is that simple. Your clutter might not look like my clutter, but that’s okay. We need to stop comparing piles and allow God to help us clean up our own. This frees us for simple priority living, investing our time in God, His Word, and people.

Identify one physical and one spiritual pile today that weighs you down. Then take action. Maybe it’s time to drop off a donation at the local resale shop. And if you have lost your temper with someone, ask for forgiveness.