Sometimes Socks
"It is what it is”. I often find myself uttering this phrase when I am dealing with circumstances that are beyond my control. When I’m stuck in traffic in the school pick-up line. When I’ve gone to three different stores and they’re all out of milk. When the dryer stopped running in the middle of the night and now the pants I wanted to wear are still wet. These are minor inconveniences that are frustrating to deal with, but not enough to ruin my day, so I say, “It is what it is” and I move on. A friend recently told me that in Spanish the phrase is “Eso sí que es”. She taught me an easy way to remember this is to spell the word S-O-C-K-S. What I’ve come to realize though, is that it doesn’t always have to be this way. I may think “it is what it is” when I’m sitting in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. I can do as I usually do and mindlessly scroll through my phone or thumb through the magazine that’s 2 years old. . . Or I can use these opportunities to strike up a conversation with the person sitting across from me. I can ask, “How’s your day? Are you feeling okay? Can I pray for you?”. When we trust in the Holy Spirit to guide us, we can have some amazing conversations with others. We may not even realize how much of a difference we are making in someone else’s life, but oftentimes we are, and that is what God wants. Jesus provides us with “socks” opportunities every day. We need to pray for these moments and be willing to open our eyes, ears, and hearts to those whom He is leading us to. It might even be the person standing behind you in line at the bank. How fruitful will His harvest be if each one of us were to share about Jesus during these moments? The Bible says in Romans 10:13-15, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, “How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!” So, remember, sometimes “it is what it is”, but sometimes socks can lead others closer to Jesus.