Sorting Through What We Carry

Can you imagine trying to organize a drawer while someone keeps tossing in more?

You know that drawer full of things you don’t have the energy to put away? So you toss them all in one place, knowing you’ll come back and sort through it when you have the right mindset and enough energy?

I have no fewer than five in my house. My son loves to dig through them, searching for treasures. He asks a lot of questions about why so many things have ended up in one place and seems astounded by the drawer’s lack of order. As I try to put things back as quickly as he pulls them out, he lets out an exasperated sigh and asks for a moment to look at everything one at a time—without more things getting added on top.

His request for a moment to sort made me think about how those drawers are like certain times in my life, where I’ve needed to give myself space and time to sort through everything.

The time and space it takes to sort creates unintended distance in relationships, and that makes me sad. But when I sort, I find where things fit and learn that sorting isn’t about discarding what was, it's about seeing the value in every piece—even the ones that no longer have a prized place on the counter.

And when I hear the exasperated sighs of those who still want to toss more in as I’m sorting, I smile and remind myself it’s okay to take my time. Healing has its own pace. And everything in our drawers, even if it’s out of place, still carries meaning. Even more so when it finds its way back to where it belongs.