A Weekend Of Overflowing Cups

I started doing spring cleaning last week, getting rid of the dust and the dog hair that has accumulated over the winter. It's been wonderful to open up the house, air things out and really do a deep cleaning of our home. Until you're really in the thick of things, you don't realize how a little bit of dirt and clutter quickly spread.

Part of the process for me has been getting rid of things we haven't used since we moved back to Iowa, paring down things I have duplicates of and organizing everything that is left. I truly believe that a cluttered home leads to a cluttered mind, so with how cluttered my brain has felt lately, apparently this needed to be done.

But when I attacked the kitchen this week, there was one cabinet I couldn't thin out. This isn't the only cabinet that has coffee cups in it, but it's the one with the most coffee cups in it. The problem, I think, is that they each hold a memory — they are places we've been, people we knew and moments we want to remember. I don't mind giving up a cabinet if it makes me smile when I open the door.

 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anoints my head with oil; my cup runeth over. Psalm 23:5

As I pull out my favorite mug in the morning, I'm often reminded of David's prayer in the 23rd Psalm. He speaks of God in such a personal way, using "I, Me Mine" words throughout. And when he gets to the fifth verse, his heart is so full of praise that it spills over into a victory anthem. The Lord had provided for David in every situation, both for his body and his soul. It wasn't almost enough or just enough to get by — his cup was filled so full that it ran over and flooded the cup as well.

Make this a weekend of overflowing cups. Even if you're in the midst of a heart-breaking trial, God is still blessing you in countless ways. If you'll look at the saucer under the cup of your life, you're sure to find plentiful provision, not just a scattering here and there. You may need to write all the blessings down, just to make sure you remember them all. Get a book — a BIG book — and make note of the ways God has made your cup overflow with His love, mercy and grace.

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