THE SOCKING TRUTH!
Ok, before you even think of attempting to read this whatcha, I feel that I am morally bound to warn you of it's content. Yes, it is true that the words below are merely a collection of verbs and nouns that can be found in any dictionary. But, within their assemblance lies a mystery so provocative, so profound as to make the X Files look as mundane as a grilled cheese sandwich for supper (sans the ketchup)! So, if your mind isn't ready for an earth-shattering revelation of the highest order, then go read one of the older whatchas. You have been warned!
It all began last year when, over the period of a few weeks, Sheila, my lovely wife, found four pair of socks along the side of the road. Go ahead, catch your breath, I know you didn't expect the ride to get this WILD this FAST! Now Sheila wasn't out looking for any of these socks. She was just out for a walk, and yet, there they were. They weren't all found in the same spot, nor on the same day, but all of them were in pairs. Interesting, isn't it? But wait, that's not the end of the story.
This past Saturday, Sheila and I were out for a walk with two of our brood, David and Graham. We found another three pair on that very afternoon. Note: all of these socks were in pairs, not a single straggler reared it's ugly heel. So, over the last year or so, we have found at least seven pair of socks along the side of a small rural road. We found all these socks without any exertion on our part. These were socks laying out in plain site. The question is, how numerous is the sock population in these parts for such blatant displays of sockary to be possible?
Well, given the shy, often skittish nature of socks, we have to estimate that the overall population must be, at least, in the tens of thousands. Now comes the big question — why? Why are there vast herds of socks roaming the range of the Mascarene Road? Well, I can't say with any certainty. I told you this was a mystery! But let me hazard a few tentative hypotheses:
Could this area be an ancient burial ground for socks? Perhaps we have stumbled upon the "secret sock resting place." If this is the case, socks from all over the world might be slowly migrating their way to Letete. Then they are dispatched to the "big sock drawer in the sky". I believe this is certainly possible, but I favor the next hypothesis.
Could this area be a sock vortex, or an energy ripple that is directly linked to all the washers and dryers the world over? Imagine, Sheila and I may have stumbled upon the answer to a mystery that has been plaguing humanity for as long as we've had socks. Every time you do the laundry, at least one sock comes up missing, right? Well, what would happen if somehow they were transported to Letete through this vortex? "But, wait a minute," you say. "Didn't you report that all the socks you found were in pairs?" Yes, that is true. But let me ask you a question. How closely do you guard the widowed sock left behind? Couldn't it be that after a while, that sock goes missing, too, and you just never noticed?
I would suggest to you that socks may have some kind of a homing mechanism that, when they are separated, enables them to be reunited. It may be that they even find their way into the laundry without your notice and then are whisked away to be joined to their "soul" mate.
I have other theories, but they aren't developed enough to share them with you at this time. I certainly wouldn't want to blurt out some half-socked theory!
OK, what is the spiritual application to this tale of the great sock herd of Letete?
First, aren't you glad that life DOES contain some mystery? Life is pretty boring if everything is understood. To be honest with you, I will be happy if I never get to the bottom of the sock mystery! Life without mystery isn't life at all. And faith without mystery is falsehood.
Think about it for a minute. What separates genuine Christianity from the cults which prey on it? It always begins with the person of Christ. It is a mystery for us to understand that Jesus was both fully human and fully divine. Rather than saying that this is a mystery that is clearly taught in God's Word so we have to accept it. Some will say, "No, we have to figure it out." If their view is accurate, then Jesus becomes a good prophet, or a teacher, or an ex-angel, not God, the Son. Wrong!
One of my favorite scriptures is, Isaiah 55:8-9, which says, "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Can I give you a plumb line to keep your faith on track? Don't try to figure everything out! To say to ourselves that we have to understand everything about God is to say that we have a God who is small enough for our mortal brain to wrap around Him. I'm sorry, but that kind of attitude is an attitude that belittles God and conveys our arrogance. God has given us much that we can understand about Him, and the Gospel is simple and direct enough for anyone to understand. However, our God is so wonderful, so great, so loving, so powerful, so amazing that He will always be a mystery, at least in this life!
Finally, what were we doing when we stumbled upon the "sock mystery of Letete"? We were out walking. We took enough time out of our crazy lives to slow down, look around, and then the mystery was found! Friends, there are beautiful mysteries all around us - in the flowers and trees, in the sky above, in the eyes of our children. We often miss the mystery. We miss it, not because it's not there! We miss it because we zoom right past it. Life becomes a treadmill devoid of all mystery if we don't intentionally slow down and take the time to look for the magic of life that surrounds us. Why not take your wife, your kids, yourself for a walk and spend some quiet time with the Lord? It won't take long for the joyous mystery of life to return.
Prayer
Lord, God, Where would we be if we served a God who was like us? Thank You that is not the case! You are greater than the limits of all of our imaginations put together. This world you have woven for us is a world full of the treasure of Your glory. Help us stop and see the mystery You have planted! Lord, help us understand that Your ways are not our ways! We praise you for that! Amen!
