Friday Food-For-Thought: A Parable of Squares

(For reader Lisa B... who loves some good food for thought. Maybe she will come out of Lurk City and comment. Or even better, text me.)

I sometimes sit in my big chair and prop my feet up on the ottoman and crochet 'til my heart's content.

And sometimes it creates a mess.

Goodness gracious. I was crocheting up a storm, wasn't I? When it gets that bad, that means I've been getting it in. I have the netflix playing, just binge watching some shows.  I think that night, I just got tired of crocheting and walked off and went to bed. I wake up to yarn and a blanket on the floor.

And I have made a complete mess.

But that's okay. For I can pull out my trusty vacuum cleaner, and in less than 5 minutes, the area looks fairly presentable.

Fairly.

I usually crochet enough squares to fill up a gallon-sized storage bag. Around about that time, I think about hooking them all together. So I pour them out on the table and count them up.

Here's my mound of squares. I crocheted these since the beginning of the year.

That's a whole bunch of squares. 323 squares to be exact.  That's a whole slew of squares right there.

Really though.

It's not enough. I need 836. So I have a long way to go.

Look closely at the squares though. Do you see something... strange and out of place?

There are two yellow squares in my pile of cream squares. I can't use those yellow squares in the current project, as they are left over from another project. I tend to find old squares when cleaning up, you see.

*ladylee wails loudly and pulls out her hair in disgust*

*ladylee cries uncontrollably and beats head against the wall*

*ladylee gets depressed and sits in the corner and broods*

"Man, LadyLee," you may say.  "You sure are getting all worked up over those two yellow squares amongst the cream squares. Calm your tail down."

"NO! There are two yellow squares in the pile of my cream squares!!!," I holler. "Can't you see that??!!!!"

I stomp my foot. Two times. "You've really pissed me off by now, by trying to talk and reason with me. I know you are being helpful... but can't you see the two yellow squares? They will ruin my whole project!!

Hmmm...

You may be looking at me a bit O_o right now. But don't trip.

We do this all the time.

In life.

I think of people in their accomplishments. I am surrounded by highly accomplished people. Over their lifetimes (especially my older friends who are in their 40s and older), we have accomplished SO much stuff.

Then there are those hard times, those moments and issues that depress us and leave us feeling bad about ourselves. There are those failures and disappointments in life.

In other words, there are those yellow squares in life.

My yellow squares (my issues and problems) are scattered amongst many cream squares (my accomplishments).

And interestingly, my accomplishments outweigh my problems. But it doesn't feel or look that way in the face of the problems. The problems get ALL the attention. It is almost as if they, dare I say, begin to define us. I know for myself, other stuff gets dug up in the process. I have a deep dark dank broom closet in the back of my heart where I keep the things that bother me (all there with my Good Book of Cuss).  It seems when problems arise in my life, stuff seeps out of that closet along with it. Ugh. And it all must be dealt with.

Interestingly,we give the personal issues more weight than the long laundry list of our accomplishments. Afterall, like the yellow squares above, they do stand out amongst the white squares, don't they?  They are bright, almost glowing, overshadowing the cream squares, plentiful in number as they are,

And that's just how it is in life. Our problems overshadow that long laundry list of all that is good in our lives.

Afterall, we are conditioned to be that way. Just watch the news. News comes on in the ATL some 8 hours a day here. And it's mostly negative. We are conditioned to zone in on the negative instead of the positive.

I have been working on reversing that conditioning. With very good results.

For when problems and adversity arise, and I consider it all. But I do understand now that adversity shows me who I am and what my feelings truly are. Change has to be made. I can face myself and grow from it. I grow as a person. And most importantly, my faith grows. And faith is like a muscle. It must be worked and strengthened.

And here's another thing to think about. And I heard an exceptional sermon on this a couple of weeks ago:

It's not the problem that's the issue. For we all have problems. We always will.

It is your RESPONSE to the problem that matters.

How are we responding to the problems?

Are we responding in faith? Or in fear?

Each determines the series of thoughts, decisions and actions we take...

Now that's something to consider.

And it's a question I have asked others (and most definitely myself) over the years.

I will take it a step further, though.

What is your (and my) pattern of response when it comes to reacting to adversity, problems, tragedy, failure and issues? Especially in the face of all your (and my) accomplishments, triumphs, and achievements over the years?

I am sure the answer is all over the board. Hopefully we have all grown and matured over the years.

I know I have.

After all, shouldn't light cast out the darkness?

And with that, I look back again at my huge mound of crocheted squares.

I don't flip out and have a conniption fit. That won't do me any good.

I pick the yellow squares out and I throw them in the trash. Sure, I want to hold on to them. Afterall, I spent some 6 minutes making those couple of yellow squares. That took time. I have residual thoughts of them, even after I throw them away. I can learn from it. Next time, I won't make more squares than I need.

I make a decision to go on and press on with my white squares... for they are many.

(Funny what I learn from a harmless mound of squares. I tell you I can get a revelation out of just about anything).

So that's for you, Lisa B. You're my best friend in my head, lol. Through our conversation this week, you caused me to have to think about some of the issues I keep hidden in the dusty back broom closet of my heart... and I am better for it. This food for thought was just for you.

And for all my readers, too.

Have a good weekend.

On purpose.