Love and Socks

Shelley | Posted on April 1, 2020 |

What is it about those we love that drives us crazy? Maybe it’s the dishes left in the sink or toys strewn around the house. It could be a repeated phrase or something that sounds like nagging. Perhaps it’s the socks found on the floor … everywhere. Yes, even our closest friend or loved one has something he or she does or says that is super-annoying. We notice it right away and immediately feel the irritation beginning to well up inside.

Of course, when I stop to consider, I’m sure I have some characteristic or action that is a bit frustrating to my loved ones and friends too (probably a bunch of them!). That quirky trait about me frustrates them on occasion, and their “thing” bothers me.

That makes me especially grateful that God loves me no matter what. There is nothing – not my whining … not my lack of attention … not my hang-ups … not my imperfections – there is nothing that keeps God from loving me.

In Romans 8:38-39 (The Message) the writer, Paul, affirms this truth: “I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.”

How reassuring! Since nothing can stop that love of God for me, then I have plenty of love to share with others in my life – even those with annoying habits.

One day as my husband was leaving for a week away, he quipped, “well, you’ll enjoy a week without socks on the floor!” We were rarely apart except for the annual youth retreat for which he was leaving to serve as a volunteer staff person. It was only a week, yet we checked in often with each other to enjoy what God was doing in the lives of the teens or to share his “dolphin sightings” as he stood on the boardwalk or on the beach. His comment was said in jest, but I found myself replying in a way that indicated the importance of those socks appearing on the floor. Socks meant he was with me – we were together. No socks would mean something had happened to him.

Little did I know that in a few years, an undetected cancer would be revealed, and a short ten months later there would be no more socks on the floor. Time went by too quickly and all hope of fussing for years to come about socks was gone. In place of my husband, Grief came into my life. What a change from the warmth found in the clasp of love compared to the cold numbing grip of Grief. It seemed this unwanted guest would never let go, but in its own time and way, it became the friend that allowed me to process pain and loss, adapt to new circumstances, and grow in my relationship with God.

I still miss those socks and my husband’s idiosyncrasies. They remind me of the love we had for each other and the far greater love God has for me.

So, the next time that annoying comment or action causes our eyes to roll, let’s remember God loves us as we are! Nothing can get in the way of that love. Maybe embedding that truth in our souls will help us to overlook some things and to love others more too.