The Gloves That Did Not Warm
It has been cold. Every morning for the past 8 or so days it has been in the mid-to-upper 20’s. I even had 20 degrees one, clear, sunny morning. It was so beautiful and yet so cold.
This is the time of year we pull out our sweaters, dust off our boots, shake out the scarves and gloves and caps. I love this time of year.
On one of those cold mornings last week, I pulled open the ‘winter’ drawer and chose a scarf to match my outfit, a cap and then I spotted them. On the bottom and toward the back of the drawer, my black leather gloves. I always thought these gloves were so cute. They had a pattern much like a shoe and its lace, on the back of the glove, or what would be the top of my hand. Super cute! I pulled them out of the drawer and put them on. Then I remembered.
The gloves always fit snug. Super snug! I couldn’t make a fist to save my life but I could easily grasp my steering wheel and that was all that was needed.
I was about 10 minutes into my 20-minute drive when I remembered something else, the gloves never kept my hands warm; ever.
I have had these gloves for over 25 years; maybe longer. I have worn them on many occasions and always arrived with cold hands. I don’t own any other pair of gloves and every winter for over 2 decades I have wondered why I keep them and why I don’t invest in a pair that will actually warm my hands and allow me to move my fingers. Why have I never followed through? It’s weird to think about. It would not take much, a quick trip into a department store or a quick order on-line, but I have spent all this time doing nothing about it.
Back to last week. I wore them into the office building and after clocking in and getting settled I walked back to Denise’s office with the gloves and basically told her, what I just told you. She smiled and pointed at her garbage can.
What? Wait! It cannot be that simple.
I looked down at the gloves in my hand and realized it was time. I gave them a gentle toss into the trash can and just like that, the gloves became a part of my past.
Ecclesiastes 3:6 tells us there is a time to keep, and a time to throw away, and it was time.
Why do we hang on to worthless stuff? And it’s more than physical stuff. People hang onto much more. But why? Certainly there are things that deserve our care and respect, but a lot of it belongs in the trash can, just like those gloves.
“We all have the natural tendency to cling to what is familiar, even it if proves detrimental to us…Many individuals have collected injustices and grudges throughout the years, nursing them and keeping them alive long after the activating event has ceased. Spouses who have gone through an ugly divorce carry these malignancies to the grave after having infected their offspring with the same malignancy.
“In his book, Weight Loss for the Mind, Stuart Wilde suggests that "letting go" is perhaps one of the most difficult tasks for a human being. He suggests that we instinctively "hang on to our family connections, to the certificate we got at school, to our money, we embrace and hang on to our children [sometimes attempting to micromanage their lives into adulthood], we lock our car and hang on to it." People may hang onto books, magazines, cassettes, records, shoes, egg cartons, plastic jugs, bottles, reusable cans, etc. If we keep these items long enough, we sentimentalize them, affectionately calling them antiques.
“Henry David Thoreau in Walden compares our accumulated belongings to traps we carry around, suggesting it is the same as if all these traps were buckled to a man's belt, and he could not move over the rough country where our lines are cast without dragging them—dragging his trap…” (Source: bibletools.org)
What are you hanging on to? Those black, leather gloves served no purpose. They were uncomfortable and they were ineffective in keeping my hands warm. They were cute, but they were worthless. They should have gone a long time ago.
Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “…lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,”
In other words, get rid of the stuff and run with freedom.
But you might say, “I like my stuff.” And I get it! I like my stuff too. But our worldly stuff is very temporary. Our homes, cars, toys, money, it is all but a wisp of smoke.
Psalm 39:11 says, “every man is vapor”.
And James 4:14 asks and answers, “For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.”
Get rid of the junk, save the good, and keep your eyes fixed on heaven.
2 Corinthians 4:18 implores us “…do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
by Jeanette Stark – Monday, November 21, 2022