Stuff to Memory Ratio

Over the past few weeks/months, I have determined that there is a direct inverse relationship between the amount of stuff one deals with in life and ones ability to keep it all straight. This seems obvious, does it not? Yeah, well, it's only apparently obvious when you don't have a lot of stuff to keep track of.

Today, I missed a meeting on campus that I was supposed to be at. A three hour meeting. A three hour meeting that I had to sit through three other meetings in preparation for. A three hour meeting that I had to sit through three other meetings in preparation for that I had a fairly crucial role in.

It was on my calendar. It was in my email. It was in my paper planner. One of the preparation meetings was this past week.

And somehow, I blew it off. My excuse? I didn't have one. In fact, while I was missing the meeting, I was doing all sorts of great and relaxing things that were not work. I went for a run before the sun went down. I took a little nap to recover from the tough run. I ate some dinner, starting working on some homework, watched some TV...

I really do not like the relationship between stuff and memory. It is pretty adverse to my current situation. I've got some stuff going on. Work, school, church, friends, family... but is there a tipping point in this relationship? Is there a point where the stuff is too great and the memory too poor to be effective? And if I'm at that tipping point, how do I crawl back to the less stuff/more memory side of the teeter totter? I suppose the only logical thing to do would be to reduce the stuff. So...what to reduce? It can't really be work. It most definitely can't be school if I intend to graduate. That leaves church, friends, and family. I'm not sure I really like the sounds of reducing my commitments to any of those things. So, I suppose I will have to accept the fact that with stuff comes memory issues. And with memory issues comes mistakes like my missed meeting tonight.

God, grant me clarity, a straight brain, and the ability to deal with all the stuff. Help me reduce the stuff to be reliable, useful, and effective in all areas of my life. I want to do well to please You. I want to honor you with all the stuff rather than just doing stuff for stuff's sake. Guide me in obedience and faithfulness in everything I do.