Sifting and Sorting

Last night I started a new family tradition – a “Sunday Evening Sock Sorting Party.” (Can one say “tradition” with only doing it once?) We dumped a laundry basket full of unmatched socks in to the middle of the room, sat around it like campers around and a campfire, and got to work. There were lots and lots of socks that were gathered from every corner of the house following a bedroom cleaning bonanza. Big socks. Little socks. Long socks. Short socks. Socks of every color. There were socks with holes, socks that had been chewed on by the dog, and even socks that no longer had a match. (Where do those “other” socks go, by the way?)

We even had cake and ice cream to follow. What’s a party without food? I tried to convince them that some day they would be telling their children and grandchildren about the great “Sock Sorting Party” tradition that I started. They looked at me like I was strange. At least we had fun, and the work got done, and we made a memory. Well, at least I did.

Looking at all those socks made me think, not so much about the party (although I thought it rather clever), but how sometimes life feels like a heap of unmatched socks. It can look like and feel like a mess – sometimes for a day, sometimes for a week, and sometimes much, much longer. There is a lot that needs to be sorted through, we are “out of sorts” and we don’t know what to do.

Let’s face it, we all need help. We need Someone to help us make sense of the messiness, to discern the problem and aid us with a solution. We need Someone in charge, who can help us gather up all the pieces – all shapes and sizes – and bring guidance and understanding to the chaos.

Dear reader, that Someone is the Lord. The socks can’t find their match and order themselves, and nor can I. On those days (or weeks, or months), when all is a mess, I need to try and dump it all out before God, and ask for His assistance. I need him to help me to “sift and sort” and come to an understanding of what is happening and what I need to do. I need discernment and wisdom to handle the mess, and to do so with godliness.

Hosea 14:9 says, “Who is wise? He will realize these things. Who is discerning? He will understand them. The ways of the LORD are right; the righteous walk in them…”

Feeling like your life is a pile of unmatched socks today? Ask the Lord to help you discern and be wise, and then trust that He will give you what you need to get the job done. It may not feel like a party, but there will be some joy in it, as you see Him work in and through you.