Toss The Plates

I love getting up early. It’s the part of the day that I have the most control over. The phone hasn’t started ringing and no text notifications are going off. It’s just me, my breakfast and my morning devotional time. Breakfast is simple–a piece of whole grain toast with a slight dab of preserves and a spoonful of raw honey. It’s wonderful, except for one thing: the plates.

 

You see, my modest breakfast fits perfectly on one of the small mismatched plates I had collected over many years. It was kind of “a thing” for me to pick up interesting dessert-sized plates on vacation or trips I had taken. Sure, I’ve lost some to cracks or accidentally dropping them, but of the plates that survived I realized that each had been acquired during a bit of a rough patch in life. If the plates could talk, they would speak of a difficult situation, unhealthy relationship or less-than-stellar event during which they came into my possession.

 

At first I tried to ignore it, but day after day, I woud reach for a dainty plate and feel a bit of a memory thorn prick that upset my otherwise delightful morning routine. After a few weeks of this I had an internal conversation with myself: “Why are you holding onto these plates that remind you of unplesantries? Why are you allowing them to spoil this special time of day? You need to toss the plates.”

 

I bagged them up and set them on the counter. To make sure I wouldn’t have “throw away remorse” I left them there for 24 hours, then I bid them adieu. That day I went shopping for plates, but instead found the most beautiful little shallow bowls. They were perfect–bright colors, interesting design. I love my new bowls. And my morning routine…no stress, no sting. It’s a beautiful thing–ALL of it.

 

Isaiah 43:19 says, Behold, I am doing a new thing! We all need a new thing at different times in life. Sometimes God initiates new things and I thank Him for that! But He also gives us the ability to initiate new things in our lives. Is there something that is irritating you? Causing you stress?  Keeping you awake at night? Is it within your ability to be “out with the old and in with something new”? If so, what’s stopping you? Stop procrastinating and go for it.

 

Yes, sometimes we need God to remove the source of our stress because it is not within our grasp to do it. But sometimes, removing the stress is as easy as tossing some plates.