If you’ve been following along with my recent blog posts, you may have noticed a pattern.  I’m reorganizing everything!

From redecorating much of the house, to major spring house cleaning, to my latest undertaking, it’s been an organizer’s dream. 

I’m reviewing and analyzing all my estate and “end of life” documents.  Don’t panic – I haven’t received any dire medical diagnosis and I’m not hearing God say to me, “Better get your things in order.  I’m coming for you!”

Rather, I’ve had the sense that, while I have so much already in place – legal documents, funeral plans, device/app access etc. – I also knew that I didn’t have all the gaps filled in or all the dots connected.

As I reviewed individual documents, it often caused me to realize I needed more information, more documentation, if things were to be simplified for those handling the details of those crucial first days after someone’s death.

It’s not an exaggeration to say I experienced true euphoria several times as everything started coming together and I could finally see the finish line.

It’s also not an exaggeration to say I feel God was guiding so much of this process and helping me think through the necessary step by step instructions. It brought me great joy!

Hold that thought.

I want to take you back almost exactly four years to when I wrote a similar post entitled “My Power Washing High.”

In that post, I talked about a similar exhilaration I experienced after the satisfaction of a sparkling clean, spider-free house exterior.  However, in that post, I questioned why I didn’t experience that same level of joy with spiritual activities.

I believe God answered that question for me this past week during those moments of intense satisfaction and accomplishment. 

Essentially the message I received was this:  God has created me, and each of us, with very specific gifts, personalities, and interests.  Some may be similar to what the post image portrays – music, gardening, woodworking, and other hobbies and interests.

But he has also gifted us with qualities such as leadership, hospitality, discernment, mercy, and yes, organizational skills.

So rather than thinking I should somehow apologize or experience guilt for feeling this good over some end-of-life documentation victories, I could recognize that it was God-given and intended to give me that joy.

If that wasn’t enough of a revelation, I also sensed him reminding me that the uniqueness he’s woven into each of us doesn’t end with our death.  We will carry that into eternity. 

God doesn’t start over with a completely different Lynne after my death.  He perfects what the fall in the Garden of Eden stole from God’s original design for us.

So, if you’ve ever wondered why certain activities give you some inexplicable joy, especially when they don’t seem particularly spiritual, this may be your answer.  God has created that gifting in you, and there is no need to apologize for the joy it brings.

And one day, the talents, interests, and gifts of every believer will blend together in perfect harmony on the restored New Earth—like the magnificent orchestra God intended from the beginning.

But there is one caveat.  There isn’t a specific Scripture that answers this question directly.  But oftentimes, we are called to think deeply on God’s character and the glimpses he gives us in this life, to draw some conclusions about that next.

As Randy Alcorn so succinctly states in one of his articles entitled, “Will We Retain Our Individuality Living on the New Earth?”:

“I think we underestimate just how much of our lives here is from the hand of God in the first place. The life that we now know and the things we enjoy so much—the parts untainted by sin—we would naturally expect to have carried over, including distinctive personalities.”

And I wholeheartedly agree with his statement from the same article:

“Would He take away from us on the New Earth the gifts He’s given to us on this earth? Would He take away from us in Heaven the particular interests and passions He’s given us here?”

I believe God will bless us richly by fully utilizing the gifts we just see glimmers of in this life.

So, I will unabashedly enjoy my power washing…and the multitude of organizing projects that find their way onto my to-do list. They are simply another reminder of the unique way God chose to create me.

As each has received a gift,

use it to serve one another,

as good stewards of God’s varied grace.

1 Peter 4:10