Raíces: Rooted in Faith, Familia, and Friendship

In the last few years, quite a few television shows became popular off the premise of organization.  We viewers were wooed with techniques that promised pretty cabinets, closets and drawers.  Phrases like open concept, clean lines, bright spaces became commonplace in organizational lexicon. 

Especially during those early days of Covid when many of us were stuck in our homes, sales related to home organization were booming. Product lines for acrylic bins and related items were being launched left and right.

Who doesn’t want their homes to look nice?  An organized space is aesthetically pleasing and can even be calming.

Panic buying was also a thing during this time.  (If you bought up all the toilet paper, I’m still working on extending forgiveness.)  We were all collectively traumatized by this unknown thing and fear took over the lives of many, causing them to grab as much as they could of whatever they could. 

I had a section in my garage that we jokingly called our “zombie apocalypse” products.  Sometimes, there were even things that I wouldn’t normally buy but I would grab random things because uno nunca sabe.  I recently was digging in my zombie apocalypse supply and found that quite a few of those uno nunca sabe purchases had expired. 

A lot of things belong on a shelf whether they are in an open organized space or in an overflow in your garage or pantry area.  You are not one of the things that belongs on a shelf.

When trauma occurs, some of us sideline ourselves.  I don’t consider a time of healing or grieving as being sidelined. These times are necessary!  Rest and recovery are divine.  However, when your heart starts telling you that it’s ready to move to new spaces and fear forces it to sit back on the shelf, you risk reaching your expiration date without being useful. 

I have experienced the feeling of being stuck, afraid to move forward and exhaust myself.  Other times, I feared exposing myself to anything because I could be met with toxicity or abuse.  It is so tempting to display only the potential of what I could have been had I made myself available to God’s plan in my life.  “I could’ve been great but I chose to sit here safe.  And aren’t I cute?”

Kitchen shelves with food products are living and breathing spaces.  Meaning: we should be constantly stocking, using, and refreshing the supply.  Even the shelves in the kitchen that hold the dishes are constantly in use as we wash and replace what we have.

Our hearts should be like this.  Most of us have multiple gifts that we have been blessed with.  They should be used and in rotation, being replenished or refreshed daily and weekly.  It’s the mark of a full life to find purpose, to find fulfillment in the pursuit of a dream or to be useful to the ones you care about.  However, when life gets messy or we get traumatized, we often stockpile our gifts.  We get afraid to use them because who knows if I use up what I have and can’t get it back?  What if I give away something valuable and it gets trashed or it isn’t appreciated?

You know what I think is sometimes worse?  Reaching your expiration date before you can do good. Here’s when you find out that your window for optimal impact has passed.

Your gift and talent do not belong on a shelf.  Your dream does not belong on a shelf.  No matter what you have experienced, you don’t belong on a shelf.