Movin’ Mountains

I see you! Busy with your piles- whatever they may be. Today mine was laundry! This is my reoccurring mountain but not all of them are.

Sometimes it’s a strict work deadline that seems impossible; maybe it’s a houseful of floors to mop. Maybe it’s cleaning the floor behind your toilets (UGH!) or making your way through the grocery store with an infant in a car seat and a toddler in tow. Maybe you have no kids in tow but you have to get to the bank before it closes and the day is already booked solid. It could be that an ear ache cropped up last night and you are desperately calling your list of sitters to make sure you can get to work on time. Maybe you are repainting your home and you just started edging the first room. Things feel daunting.

Whatever your mountain today- you’ve moved them before and you’ll do it again. Maybe you’re praying right now for God to make a way because you can’t see the other side of your mountain and you’re tired. I see you. You are not alone.

Did you know it’s okay to ask for help? Did you know that other people, who you probably know, that have likely defeated your mountain before? Today I am going to share ways to make it move.

1. Plan for the unexpected. Expect that more of your mountain could be coming and anticipate how you will navigate some of the “what ifs”- where will you find help? What can you do right now to avoid something later? Keep that laundry caught up for the day when the power goes out before the clothes are dry, mid cycle and you have to hang them all up. Have a clothes rack ready to go. Consider Plan B.
2. Expect what is expected. Moving mountains of any kind is hard work. Expect to be tired. Expect your priorities to shift. Put yourself in position for success. Whether you fold your laundry at 5am before your babies wake up or you take a different route home that avoids the McDonalds when your mountain is weight loss.
3. See who else this mountain belongs to –tell them to help. Is there a project at work that you take on solely because you want control of the results? Are you able to delegate some of the tasks? Consider who else has some skin in the game. If your mountain didn’t move –who else would be affected? What can they do and why aren’t you asking them? This laundry belongs to someone. Who is that – someone other than yourself? How can you inspire and help those around you to do their part? Can you set them up for success which will lighten your load? Can you set out the lunch ingredients the night before so even the littlest helpers can assemble them? Can you teach your helpers to do their own laundry? This lovely laundry mountain belongs only to our downstairs dwellers (the younger half) and my husband and I. Can you imagine my mountain if I covered it for everyone all of the time?
4. Talk to and through your mountain.  Brute force isn’t usually something that can be sustained. Folding laundry and moving mountains takes time. Sing. Dance. Talk. Speak on the positive, and really try to be optimistic. One shirt at a time, one stop light at a time, one dish at a time- it adds up. Talk yourself IN to your solution.
5. Celebrate old mountains that became victory stories.  You’ve done this before, maybe not exactly this, but something similar. You’ve seen what the end result looks like and if you picture that- you can feel it. Celebrate those victories. As with many things, once you do it once, you can do it again. It gets just a bit better every time. Consider those times before your practice.
6. Put that mountain out there.  Stop covering it up! Stop hiding your mountain. When the laundry never comes out of the basement it can pile up quickly. Face that laundry head on. Talk about the mountain with colleagues and friends, weigh their advice, look for those with a decent track record of moving mountains and consult with and confide in them… When others see you tackling your mountain they may be inspired to jump in and help- which brings me to the next point…
7. Get by with a little help from your friends. Take the help! You are not the martyr of the laundry pile! If someone has a spare set of hiking boots than why let your shoes get worn out? If help arrives take it. People want to help; often the issue is they don’t know how. So if your people have the will and have found a way- let them have at it!
8. Don’t expect your friends to be able to help, appreciate them fully when they do!  Some people will be able jump in and when they do, (whether or not the mountain belongs to them)- thank them! Love them! And give them credit! A little bit of appreciation is nothing when compared to the lightning of your entire load. Realize that no one needs to help you; and some won’t feel that they own any part of any mountain at all. In those cases, consider what is really important. If that laundry doesn’t get done, who goes without clothes? Will a day or two naked prompt someone to claim their piece of the mountain? Not always.
9. Keep moving.  Nothing is forever, but when it feels that way- keep moving, keep folding, keep on showing up. Slow is better than nothing at all. If even one load a day, something will be clean and ready to wear tomorrow.
10. Picture what the mountain looks like when it’s been moved.  Visualize that mountain gone. Imagine your success. Imagine how good that coffee will taste once the laundry isn’t blocking your view from that cozy spot on the couch. Picture the college degree on your wall or the jeans zipping up with no pulling. Think of your groceries all put away when you are scouring the cabinets for dinner later on or envision that sick baby your rocking, crawling around 3 days from now fever free because you made the time to make sure they were well.

I know you’re out there. I’ve talked with you on my porch before. You’ve helped me fold my laundry or you’ve seen me in the store with carts and hands full. I have helped you paint or wash dishes and other times you have let me cry it out in the middle of my mountains while you encouraged me.

We’ve met our deadlines and we’ve moved our mountains before so be encouraged my friends – you’ve got this. And if you don’t – luckily God does.

Mark 11:23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be removed, and be cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he said shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he said.