I don’t know why exactly this particular phrase came to mind this morning, but
it did. It made me think of cereal or
crackers in a bag in a box at the store.
The box nearly always seems too big for the product inside. To explain this phenomenon, manufacturers
added to the packaging, “Some settling may occur.” The weight of the food remained the same; it
just didn’t look like the box was full.
“Some settling may occur.”
I wonder what that phrase has to do with life.
Right now I feel like my box is overflowing. Schedules are changing, responsibilities are
changing, the level of being busy is changing.
School began and it feels like very little was removed from my box, so
I’m overflowing. Soon, I suspect, some
settling may occur. Routines will be
established, delegating some of the household “stuff” will be successful, and
perhaps instead of adding more meetings, I will be able to replace some, maintaining
some sort of balance.
I hope that emotionally some settling may occur as
well. With changes come stress,
weariness and anxiety. An “out of
control” feeling lends itself to panic that there’s too much of everything
demanding my time. Once I figure out how
it can all fit together, learning which pieces fit best together, some settling
may occur. It will take a bit of time to
become grounded and comfortable with the new routine.
So how I approach the weight of my world, how I allow myself
to allow some settling to occur, is important.
I know the package is full. I
know because I’m the one who packed it.
And it is up to me to open the package to both remove some of the contents
and to add to the contents, hopefully in appropriate measure. Because through it all, I don’t want to
settle for too much or too little, like Goldilocks, I want the settling to
occur “just right.”
O God of all that is good, be with those who suffer from over-extension, from doing too much with too little. Help them to find a way to allow some
settling to occur in their lives, to find balance as they load their package,
filling it with the things that give the most nourishment and satisfaction to
live the life you have so graciously given.
Amen.