claim and conquer and all that jazz

Today I conquered THIS.

What you can't see is the depth of this pile, the way it covers the massivity of our king size bed. We affectionately call it Laundry Mountain. I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that this is a recurring problem in our house. I don't mind the washing, or the folding, or the putting away of clean clothes. It's when you put them all together that my brain instantly turns to mush and I am ruined. This sort of snuck up on me this week, it doesn't take long in a house of five. But today I had to buckle down and get it under control.

I wish I were a graphics genius, because I would have worked some magic on this photo and added a tiny version of myself scaling this beast. Instead, you'll have to use your imagination. Just picture me there, somewhere around my favorite yellow shorts, climbing with all my might, throwing my arm up over the edge, planting a flagpole right on top. Only, this isn't an American flag or even a flag bearing the Blankenship family crest, it's a white flag of surrender. And then, keep imagining tiny me, sitting proudly on the top of that crazy mountain looking out at the view, with a sweet sense of accomplishment. I climbed. I conquered. 

I know what you're thinking. You got to the part where I said 'flag of surrender' and spaced out. Isn't surrendering on the list of what-not-to-do-when-conquering?? Imagine my surprise when God started speaking to my heart about this while I was up to my ears in socks and undies. See, we're trained to think of claiming and conquering as acts of valor and bravery, and to think of surrender as the inferior option- the weaker choice. But God doesn't care what we know or think we know, His ways are so often the exact opposite of what society is spilling.

He says that you can't conquer without surrendering. The two work hand in hand. Doesn't make sense?? Sure it does. 

There isn't a thing in this world that I can conquer on my own, not without completely surrendering it to Him first. I couldn't take control of Laundry Mountain without surrendering to the truth that my own time management was to blame. I can't conquer negative attitudes without relentlessly going to Jesus and being honest about the ugliness in my heart. Surrender isn't weakness. There is strength that comes in recognizing that we are not strong outside of God's grace, His purpose, His hand directing our steps. So yeah, I scaled Laundry Mountain and threw out my flag. God, forgive me, for getting so wrapped up in my own head that I dug myself a hole, or in this case, built myself a mountain. 

I hope this finds you scaling all sorts of big things, coming out on top, and waving your white flag :)

P.S. My new 35mm lens is my fav, sweet aperture makes those blurry backgrounds that people are crazy for *wink wink*