NOVEMBER 2020
Holey Socks
We have a rule at our house: if your socks have holes, we throw them away. Simple. To the point. Life goes on.
It’s actually really hard to throw socks away for my kids. Often their socks are covered in pictures of their favorite characters—Batman, Spider-man, Woody from Toy Story, Forky. Which also means the socks they love the most get worn the most and get holes the quickest.
But yet, the rules stands: If your socks have holes, we throw them away.
I’ve tried to fix socks. I’ve got some sewing skills. But socks are tough and more often than not, my ‘patch’ becomes an uncomfortable spot inside a shoe that drives your toes nutty. So I got over the mom-guilt of not being able to salvage those most-beloved socks and hold fast to the ‘throw-it-away’ rule.
The other day my socks had a hole in them. But I didn’t care, because it was not bothersome to me. They were a pair of my favorite bright and colorful striped socks. I was content with the holes. No big deal, right?
Until my three year reminded me “Mooooooom! We throw away holey socks!”
“Wait, what? That rule doesn’t apply to me! I’m mom! I’m an adult! I can wear whatever socks I want. That’s just a rule for you guys. It’s different for me.”
Matthew 7:3 says, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?“
This moment was enlightening. How often do we hold others to the rules while at the same time making room to exclude ourselves from the rules?
The log in my eyes was glaring. I could have used my official ‘mom’ status and kept the socks, but the witness to my children would have been extreme. Rules are rules.
There is no room for the log in true Christian witness. We must ask God for a greater self-awareness of our downfalls so we can effective deal with them. Then we can apply the rules to others in our influence.
Our kids our watching. Our families are watching. Our co-workers are watching. They can spot hypocrisy from a mile away.
I threw the socks away.
Leah Carolan
Director of Worship & Media
