Last week, I was cleaning and organizing my craft room when I pulled out a basket labeled “Current Projects.” The funny thing is, after looking through it, “current” was probably not the right word.

Inside were ideas, projects, and supplies I had fully intended to work on. Some of them had been sitting there for months. A few had been there for years. Years!

As I looked through everything, I found myself wondering what version of me thought I was going to have enough time to do all of it. Apparently, she was very optimistic. But the truth is, every item in that basket was something I genuinely wanted to do at one point. I wasn’t buying supplies for projects I hated. I wasn’t saving ideas I didn’t care about. I had good intentions, life just had other plans.

Work got busy. Family needed attention. Other priorities moved to the front of the line. And little by little, those “current projects” became forgotten projects.

But instead of feeling guilty about it, I found myself thinking about how many of us have a basket like that. Maybe yours isn’t filled with craft supplies. Maybe it’s books you planned to read, recipes you wanted to try, a room you meant to organize, or goals you promised yourself you’d start someday. We all seem to carry around these collections of good intentions. Not because we’re lazy. Not because we don’t care. But because life is often fuller than we expect it to be.

Looking through that basket reminded me that I can’t do everything. None of us can. But maybe that’s okay. Maybe the goal isn’t to finish every project or check every box. Maybe the goal is simply to choose what matters most in this season and give ourselves permission to let the rest wait. Or maybe even let it go.

Although, if I’m being honest, I did save a few things from that basket. After all, hope is hard to throw away.

With love, 

Mindy