Mending Holes

The mystery of socks.
One always seems to get lost in the laundry.
A sock may even fall out of the basket as the laundry is being brought downstairs.
It lies there…lonesome…forlorn…on the steps…waiting!

Socks tend to get holes in them…one at a time.
Mending socks always leaves an annoying bump of thread that is not pleasant to walk on.
I throw the torn sock away and save the good one in the back of the drawer.
Inevitably another sock will get a hole in it…then two good socks become a new pair.

I am used to socks getting holes in them.
I am used to stockings getting a run in them.
I am not used to sneakers getting a hole in them…on the top…front and center.

I had to replace my old sneakers today.
From walking everyday, they lose their cushioning after a while.
There is one particular brand I consistently buy.
I have noticed, however, that this is my second pair that got a hole right across the front.

There was another woman buying sneakers as well.
She was very intent on finding the right one and had boxes upon boxes next to her.
I needed the salesman to get my size off a high shelf.
He grabbed a ladder and got the sneaker for me…in two different styles.

Do you ever have people complain about this brand getting a hole right in the front?
Yep…this lady right over here!

He pointed to the woman with all the boxes.
She never looked up…still intent on finding the right shoe.
I made my selection…staying true to my brand.

As I left the aisle, I spoke to her.

We are here for the same reason, it seems.
Yes…look at this.
She grabbed her shoe and poked her finger right through the hole in the front.

We should write to the company and let them know we both had the same problem.
She never answered me.
She went right back to her piles of boxes and her decisions.

I came home and decided that I would call the toll free number of the company.
Sitting at their desks in California, they listened to my concerns.

Yes, they have heard there was a problem with this style running shoe.
Yes, they are restyling their shoe.
Yes, there will be a reinforced lining inside across the toes.
Yes they are very glad that I called.

I told them that there were two of us today with the same problem.
I told them that only one of us stuck with their brand.
The other woman left with a different brand.
She probably feared that the tear might happen again.

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:
A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8)

A time for everything.
A time to tear and a time to mend.

Socks…shoes.
Hearts…lives.

Isn’t it wonderful that God doesn’t toss us away when we need mending?
Isn’t it lovely that He sticks with us…rather than “go with a different brand”?

Yes, He knows we have a problem with sin.
Yes, He is reshaping us…we are clay in the Hand of the Potter.
Yes, there will be a reinforced lining of His Spirit in our hearts.
Yes, He is filled with joy when we call to Him.

Our sin problem cannot be mended on our own.
We can’t go to a store and buy a new model of ourselves.
That same annoying tear…that separates us from Him…will keep appearing.
The tear cannot be mended with our own ingenuity.

We need Him!
We need salvation through His Son, Jesus.
In His expert Hands, the tear is mended.
He never patches us temporarily.
He mends us permanently…eternally.

There is one stipulation.

We have to see the tear.
We have to realize the futility of walking around with a hole in our soul.
We try our own solutions.
We rub blisters on our soul…because of the annoying bump of our own mending.
We finally lift our hands in surrender.

He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end.
(Ecclesiastes 3:11)

Beautiful in His time.
Permanently mended.