When my aunt died, and another moved to a retirement center, I stored most of their furniture. My aunt still wanted to keep it.

You know how that is.

I jumped from one storage unit to two. And my garage, already full, became fuller.

(My cats, Dirt and Squirt, were upset. They couldn't even find a place to sleep in there!)

About the same time my lifetime habit of saving everything and putting it in my closet caught up with me.

My life seemed to be covered by a mountain of "stuff."

Listen -- my tree from last Christmas was still hidden in the shrubbery at the end of my house!

And I didn't have the time or energy to deal with any of this -- not and do my work, too.

Sometimes we don't even know where to start to get life back under control.

And Jesus says "Don't be anxious, don't worry." ---

Does he know what he's talking about?

I find he always does.

Here is the Gospel truth: out problems are not lasting, but we are. Every difficulty we face -- every one of them -- will pass, but we will go on.

So the most foolish thing for us to do is to give up -- or "get down."

The worst thing about depression is that it grows out of a lie about reality. The lie tells us that wherever we are is where we are going. We have arrived at a bad place -- and there's no way out.

Nonsense!

In one way or another we will move through our problem and beyond it.

The one who made us has made us to last forever. We're on a journey and we're moving toward glory.

So let's get on with it.

Let's do our best. Let God do the rest. One step at a time -- but get on with it!

Now what about you?

Where are you "overwhelmed"?

Don't be. Your problem will not last -- but you will. So drop the worry. Just get up and get on with it.

Excuse me now. I've got to haul off a Christmas tree.