Socks and Underwear

 

When I was young I couldn’t wait for Christmas to come.  My three brothers and I would pour over the Sear & Roebuck catalogue examining each toy.  How many pieces came in each set?  How many moving parts did the machine have?  Did it require batteries?  All of those exciting points.  I was always up before dawn on Christmas Day examining the toys that Santa had brought me.  Later in the afternoon I opened the other gifts from parents and grandparents.  When I opened my Granny Epperly’s gift, I was disappointed to find socks and underwear.  My mom had to elbow me so that I would say the obligatory “Thanks”.  What I didn’t understand was that Granny Epperly grew up in the Depression era when things were hard to come by.  New socks and new underwear were a welcomed gift.  Back then, but not now.  And Granny Epperly grew up in the coalfields of West Virginia where folk had to scratch and claw to eke out a living from the ground.  Back then, but not now.  I just didn’t understand that Granny Epperly’s gift freed up a little more money for my parents to give me a toy for Christmas.  I just didn’t understand.  Hey, that’s exactly how it is when the dear Lord sends suffering into my life.  I don’t like trouble, but God uses trouble to make me into a stronger Christian and to bring me into a closer relationship with Him.  The apostle James said in James 1:2&3, “My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”  God uses temptations to teach me patience.  And me learning patience is a good thing.  Paul put it this way in I Thessalonians 5:18, “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you.”  Give thanks for everything - even socks and underwear - because God uses everything in our lives for our good and for His glory!