Too Much.

We bought our house three years ago, and I can still remember gleefully signing that huge stack of papers, making foot tracks through the immaculately vacuumed carpet, and taking deep breaths of that "new house" smell. It was ours! We unloaded the moving truck and transitioned from our 1,200 square foot apartment to the new 2,000 square foot home, and there was plenty of extra space in the cupboards and closets and corners.

Not anymore.

Over the last three years, we've brought in LOTS of stuff. Over the last few months, we've brought in even more. Apparently, we haven't taken much stuff out of the house.

As we've prepared for Ben, Tim and I have said over and over again, "Where is all of this stuff going to go?"

The cupboard under the sink in the guest bathroom is great storage for extra rolls of toilet paper, boxes of kleenex, and bottles of soap. Every now and then Bath and Body Works does a pretty good sale on their antibacterial soap, and since I am a total sucker for anything that smells yummy, I usually walk out of the store with more soap than we could possibly use in a year. This happens quarterly.

This is my absolute favorite:

I digress.

Now we have a baby bath tub. And bath toys. And baby shampoo. And baby lotion. And hooded towels. But we still have the toilet paper. And kleenex. And 73 bottles of soap. And one bathroom cupboard.

When my craft room became Ben's nursery, we had to do some major re-arranging in the game room. The game room is no longer an open room with a pool table in it. The game room now houses a pool table, a sewing table, a large shelving unit full of fabric and art supplies, and a project table featuring both storage and work space. And lots and lots of craft stuff.

When we moved Ben's clothes into the closet in the nursery, they displaced boxes of old pictures from high school, my prom dress (the lovely blue, sequined number shown here):


As well as my wedding dress, an old cheerleading jumpsuit, cake decorating books, quilting books, a few art kits with dried up markers, and a stuffed bear that is literally the size of a human-being. Tim gave it to me right before he left for Iraq so it could fill the space in the bed next to me while he was away, and I just can't seem to part with it.

Yesterday, I was attempting to rearrange things in our kitchen. (As it turns out, babies require at least a little space in every room.) If ever there was a room that presented a challenge, it's the kitchen. I love to cook, bake, and entertain, and our cupboards, drawers, and pantry are FULL of things that allow me to do those things with more ease and flair. Now, we have bottles, sippy cups, rubber spoons, bibs, snack cups, and little bowls that need a home. I kept shifting and moving things, trying to free up enough space for Ben's stuff and I threw my hands up and said, "We have too much stuff!"

And then the irony of my fear hit me right in-between the eyes. Like most new parents, we've been talking a lot about cutting back on things and making sure we're able to make ends meet after Ben arrives. Things will be tight. Some days, I get excited to see how God will provide for us, but most days, I just worry. What if Ben has special needs that cost a lot? What if one of our cars die and we have to pick up a car payment? What if? What if? What if? The question always boils down to "What if we don't have enough?"

There is absolutely NO basis for that fear. We have ALWAYS had enough. God ALWAYS provides for His children. And, more often than not, my complaint (it's gross even as I type it) is that we have too much.

How many times have you cooked a holiday meal and had too much leftover food to fit in your fridge?

How many times have you had to clean out your closet to make room for new clothes?

How many times have you thrown away outdated food in your pantry because you never got around to eating it?

These are my “problems.”

As I sifted through overflowing kitchen cabinets yesterday, Malachi 3:10 came to mind- "...and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it."

Surely, blessings abound. God provides, and we are humbled.