Mismatched Pieces
A few days ago, Jason pulled a pair of socks out of his drawer. As he unrolled the socks, he immediately noticed an issue—they weren’t the same. I know we’ve all mismatched a blue and black sock or two socks of the same color, but that was not the case here. No, these two socks were as different as could be. One was a medium-weight black crew sock; the other was a heavy-weight tan, tall sock. They weren’t the same color, length, style, or weight. Yet, somehow, I had paired the two together and placed them in his drawer. Wow! Just wow!
Life can sometimes feel like someone has handed us odd socks. We’re going along, minding our own business and trying to get by. Suddenly, here come these two random socks—mismatched pieces of a whole. At first, we’re baffled by them. How did this happen? Why are we holding these things? And more than that, what are we supposed to do with them? They don’t work together. They don’t fulfill the need we have. They don’t meet our expectations. They’re just not right.
We could complain. Moan about how unfair life is. Whine about how we always get stuck with demanding jobs or the problem people. Or, we could do as Jason did. He laughed. He didn’t get mad at my mistake or fuss about the inconvenience. Instead, he set the socks aside until we could find the true mates (which we still haven’t seen, by the way) and pulled out another pair. He continued his day to the best of his ability and didn’t allow the mismatched pieces to throw him into a fit.
I don’t know about you, but I’ve been guilty of throwing a temper tantrum on more than one occasion when something didn’t fit my schedule or expectations. I wanted one thing but got another, and I was NOT happy. Then, I proceeded to waste valuable time, effort, and energy complaining to anyone who would listen about my poor lot in life and the mismatched pieces I had to deal with. I should have gone about my business with the right attitude and a merry heart, knowing that God would sort out the chaos or give me the wisdom to deal with it correctly.
Mismatched pieces. It happens. It’s up to us how we respond. We can pitch a fit and blow everything out of proportion, or we can smile and continue on our way gracefully and gratefully. Which will you do?
P.S. Does anyone else think there’s some form of a magical troll living in both the dishwasher and dryer, feeding on socks and Tupperware lids? No, just me?
A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones. - Proverbs 17:22