CAN'T FIND MY SOCKS!

 

Almost through.
Drawers cleared and reorganized. Yuck! More decisions!

     

     Raking through a pile of socks on the shelf, I only found my dark colored short footie socks. Hmmm. I have a new light colored pair of walking shoes, and I couldn't find any white socks. So, I went to my dresser, where my sock drawer had become a catch-all for odds and ends. I hoped to find the socks that had eluded me.

     Wow, I found so many hoarded keepsakes. Birthday cards given to me in previous years, pressed pennies from Pikes Peak, Carlsbad Caverns, and twenty other places I've visited, supplements galore, photos that I intended to pass on to some of my children, half a dozen face masks from 2022, and then just a lot of odds and ends that I stopped to wonder why I kept them around.

     A little ticked off that I still did not find any short socks, I looked at the contents of the top drawers and knew my plans for the morning were doomed. In the back corners of my mind, way back, I found a checklist with cobwebs covering it that said, 'Get rid of junk and clean out the dresser drawers.' I have never had that on my daily agenda in years.

     Now I was a little agitated because my morning of writing was going to take a detour to, of all things, sorting through stuff. Fun. Fun. Fun.

     As I sorted, I thought of another time this week when plans went awry. We were going to have lunch with a pastor and his wife. At the last minute, I prompted my husband, Jerry, to text and make sure we were still on before we drove the twenty miles for our lunch date. 

     As it turned out, his wife was unable to attend. I was disappointed, as I had wanted to get better acquainted with her. We have spoken to their Spanish/English church in Seguin, so we would be seeing them more in the future, but we looked forward to hearing about their work there and hoped to pray for them and encourage.

     I almost did not go with Jerry because it might be better man-to-man. I also felt sad not to be able to enjoy her company, even though I knew she was swamped with her work at the church and had children at home. It was Memorial Day, a holiday as well.

     But I did go. My husband wanted me to go with him, but deep inside, I felt God wanted me there as well. The carne guisada was delicious, the coffee smooth and good. The room was chillier than I liked it, but as soon as we started sharing stories and bantering back and forth, I stopped noticing the temperature. Pastor David was encouraged, and we were encouraged. This was a divine moment, and I had almost missed out.

     We thanked the pastor for his generosity with his time. He drove off to work with his brother for the rest of the afternoon. I knew his heart had to feel like ours. Elated, warm, joyful, and thrilled to see his vision and how he trusted God to work it all out. I left feeling on cloud nine and thanking God for this opportunity to be in the presence of this noble man of God.

     Back to my mess. Yes, this is the same week I had this heavenly meeting. You would think that I would learn to embrace life's little quirks by now, but God is patient, and he is still working on me.

     I did make some headway by organizing all my extra cosmetics in one container, freeing up most of one drawer. But if you could see the top of my dresser now, you would see all the piles of undecided items that don't know where to go.

     I managed to throw out much of my 'priceless' momentos, things I have not looked at or used for years. I put photos in bags for each child to sort through. Filed some poetry and writing. Said goodbye to old cards. Cleared and made way for my socks to return to their favorite drawer. 

     Not everything is in perfect order or in its perfect place yet, but the process has begun and may take more than a few hours. This started as a hunt for socks for today and ended up clearing some things away that had been waiting to be noticed and removed.

     Still some piles to go through and reorganize. Still more drawers, closets, and corners that are waiting for me to manage, but even in the chaotic state of affairs, I know that it looks worse before it looks great. 

     My attitude and blood pressure are down a few notches. I have to apologize to my husband for sounding a little cranky when, in the middle of a mess, he came in all cheery to welcome me into the day. However, I am now committed to taking this organizational duty to task. A few hours a day, a few days here and there, until the deed is done. 

     I understand that this is life. It comes with interruptions and throws us into situations that I do not expect. But somehow, God takes even things like looking for a pair of white shortie socks and turns them into something for my good if I just do not resist.

     Romans 8:28 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

     This is such a silly example. Right? Some would say, "What's the big deal?" 

     First of all, I learned to always be on guard. Second, it is in the little moments that God builds my endurance and teaches me lessons to prepare me for the bigger moments yet to come.