As I’m writing this, there is a cool breath of fall air sailing through a six-inch opening in my bedroom window. A pair of wet birds are exchanging chirps while sampling seeds from the feeders on the back deck. For the first time in many months, the raindrops are joining together, as they fall over the edge of the metal roof. All those little pieces of leaves and debris that were left after months of procrastinating to clean those gutters were now riding a tiny stream to the downspouts. Closing my eyes in a moment of dreary morning joy, I hear the water falling through the pipes, and I am reminded that what I hear now will soon join a babbling brook not too far into the wood.
Such a simple little pleasure, this was a sweet gift for a chore that I had put off too long. Let’s be real; there are not too many of our friends who enjoy cleaning gutters. It’s dirty, a little dangerous, and it eventually becomes an obligation — especially when the trees growing in them begin to create leaves, too!
Like so many things in our lives, little pieces of debris can really pile up and become daunting, as they grow into larger tasks and obligations, overflowing into other places they shouldn’t. Whatever your personal gutters may be collecting, I hope you find the motivation and encouragement this month to take the necessary steps, and make your life flow a little smoother, cleaner and more freely. Once you get that flow to go with, all the little things wash away so much easier, and that, of course, is something we all can be thankful for.