Streaming Insights

“Your gentle Spirit instructed them.” (Nehemiah 9:20 CEV)

Last year, I spent a few hours volunteering at a charity thrift store. Sorting through the mountains of donated items was hard work. The volunteers would open a bag and inspect each piece. Most of the things were odds and ends.  Was it worth keeping? Or should it go in the trash pile? What size was it? Which table or shelf should it be placed on? 

In the early morning hours, when I am still half asleep, something similar happens in my brain. Streaming thoughts, dreams, and insights get downloaded at a rate beyond what I can process. I feel overwhelmed, so I do a brain dump. I write or type out everything I remember before it fades. I don’t try to make sense of it. 

Hours later, I pick up each piece and inspect it. Is it trash or treasure? What is its purpose? Would cleaning it up reveal its significance? What am I supposed to learn? Where does it fit? Is it meant for me, or should I pass it on to someone else? This task is time consuming and mentally draining. I am tempted to throw away most of it, just because it is a hassle to deal with. Yet, I continue sorting, contemplating, categorizing, connecting, writing. What if there is something of value in the heap of cluttered thoughts? What if the Spirit of God has hidden a pearl of wisdom somewhere in this mess?