A few months ago, I received a new iron to try for review purposes. I was really excited about this new iron. The one I’d been using was, well, not great. I think it absorbed water because I was constantly refilling it. Or maybe the leaking was the problem. It always seemed to be dripping on whatever I was trying to press. The new iron was advertised as being “drip-free.” I was delighted!
Sure enough, it didn’t leak. It was wonderful as far as the steam feature was concerned.
But, I think that was the only wonderful thing about it. The settings were poorly labeled. The water tank was encased in an opaque blue that made it practically impossible to see the water level. Whenever I was ready to fill it, I had to stand with the light just right to check the level, pull it back down to put a little more water in it, and then hold it back up to the light just so in order to make sure I still wasn’t overfilling it.
It also turned itself off after only a few minutes of no use. An auto-off feature is great, but when I’m sitting down to sew, I need more than five to seven minutes of give time before an iron turns itself off! And, there was no way to just turn the thing back on. It had to be unplugged and then plugged back in before it would come back on. It wasn’t long at all before I was ready to go back to my “wonderful” old iron, leaks and all.
I went to get my old iron back out, only to realize with dismay that it was gone. We had filled a box of giveaway items. I had put the iron in that box temporarily just to get it out of the way, intending to pull it back out before we gave the rest of the items away. But, I forgot, and the iron was gone. I was stuck with the new iron.
Honestly, an iron is not that big of a deal. It’s an inconvenience to deal with a frustrating iron, but not the end of the world. But, how often do we dispose of much more important things in our rush to find the new and better?
Maybe it’s a possession like a home or a car. Maybe it’s a job. It could be a relationship. It might even be a church family.
We get focused on what is wrong with our current situation, and we desire something different. When something new and exciting flashes in front of us, we jump for it. And in the process, we often lose something that has been good all along.
There are times when God moves us. He asks us to leave behind the stable and familiar and step out into the unknown. But, there are other times when we are just too anxious to ditch something faithful in favor of something new and exciting.
How do we know the difference? How do we make wise decisions? There is only one way. We must keep our eyes off of the circumstances and on God Himself. He alone can tell us when it’s time to take a leap into the unknown and when it’s time to stick with the familiar, no matter how frustrating it may be.
What are you tempted to leave behind today? Take your eyes off the old and the new and focus instead on the Lord Himself.
Not Quite Ordinary 