Efficient ... Or Not

 

I like to think ahead and be efficient.  My wife thinks it is obsessive/compulsive, but I like to think of it as efficient.  When I carry a load of dirty clothes downstairs, I will bring up a gallon of birdseed for the back yard.  And when I come back inside with the empty container, I pick up the garbage bag and carry both downstairs dropping off the birdseed container in the garage and continuing on to the outside garbage can with the garbage bag.  Then in the basement, I pick up a load of dried clothes and carry the basket upstairs.  A perfect model of efficiency … or so I think.  But this afternoon I had a glitch in my perfect system.  I came inside from changing tires on my truck.  I emptied the dryer before coming upstairs (efficiently).  My first mistake.  And since a light blue dress shirt was in the dryer, I hung it on a wire shirt hanger.  But as I was buttoning the collar button, I smudged dirt on the collar from my dirty thumbnail.  And as I attempted to scratch the dirt off, I got another smudge beside the first smudge.  I picked up the spray degreaser, but as I held the shirt with my left hand, I got another smudge on the yoke of the shirt.  I had to put the shirt down, go upstairs (empty handed), and wash my hands.  Then I came back downstairs (again, inefficiently empty handed) and scrubbed out the three smudges with the degreaser.  Then I rewashed the shirt (inefficiently the only item in the washer) and dried the shirt (inefficiently the only item in the dryer).  God has a way of humbling me.  Solomon said in Proverbs 16:25, “There is a way that seemeth right unto a man …” but I’m not going to finish that verse.  My pride will be my downfall.  Oh yes it will!