Tonight I was wearing a skirt. I was leaning down on a kitchen counter talking to my dad. As I stood fully back up, we heard something rip. Without looking down I knew my skirt had torn. An eyelet in the skirt had caught on a cabinet handle edge.
Ugh! I was so mad. I was mad at myself for not having changed into shorts when I thought about doing so. I was mad at the stupid cabinet handles that we have. I was mad at my mom for being in Des Moines and not here so that she could fix it tomorrow. And of course, I was mad at the skirt for being so darn tearable.
I stormed upstairs to get ready for bed and threw that skirt on the floor, where it belonged. It no longer deserved to be hung up in my closet or even folded and placed in a dresser drawer. Nope, my temper had me in its grip and I took that out on my poor skirt.
As I brushed my teeth I started to cool down a bit. When I was taking out my contacts I really started to think. And by the time I had finished washing my face I realized how ridiculous I had been and that my skirt deserves a second life... and that I should obey my mom and not leave clothing on the floor!
I really had been ridiculous about the whole thing. Usually things of that nature don't bother me so much. I mean, it's not even my favorite skirt. It's absolutely reparable. I had no reason to be so upset about a flimsy piece of fabric. That's all it is! A couple rectangles of fabric sewn together. It's not the only piece of clothing I own. That doesn't mean I shouldn't take care of my things, but I have other skirts I can wear tomorrow, next week, next month, if I so desire.
What if my family were ripped away from me?
What if my liberties were ripped away from me?
What if my freedom to practice my faith openly was ripped away from me?
What would I do then? These are among the things in my life that truly matter. I believe that if any of these things... family, liberty, faith... were not in my life, I would have good reason to be upset. God has blessed me so greatly and in more ways than I can count. To be materialistic and unthankful for everything - or simply a single thing - would be like a slap in the face, I imagine. You've heard them before... "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." "Don't bite the hand that feeds you." Love God. Love your neighbor. Honor your parents. Give thanks. Doing these things are also what truly matters to me. And they're all something I should be focusing on and doing more of.
Funny how something like a small tear in a skirt can make you realize that.
'Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." '
[Mark 10:21]
No comments:
Post a Comment