Sheets Day (07/10/2024)

This is going to sound strange, I am sure, but I didn’t know an unmade bed was a bad thing until I got married. The first day together, my husband inquired about the unmade bed. I explained that it was no big deal, no one saw it, and we were just going to “unmake” it again that day. That’s when he kindly and lovingly explained to me that that wasn’t how it worked. Beds should be made when we get out of them. And that was the first change of my married life. There have been more, lots and lots more, but that was the first. And to this day, making the bed immediately has become a big thing in my life.

Fast forward 55 years. Our master bedroom is at the front of our home. It is the first thing visitors see when they enter our home if they happen to look to the left instead of straight ahead. I am very self-conscious about a visitor seeing an unmade bed. So, sheets days have to be planned on low traffic days at my house. And yesterday was such a day.

I hurriedly washed and dried them and then my husband and I made the bed back up. The room was restored. Now I could entertain visitors once more. As I thought about this, I realized that I had taken a good thing too far. I was actually fearing a friends visit.

And, if you know me, this got me to thinking. What else in my life have I taken too far?

I have known the expression, “Too much of a good thing” for a long time. I finally have a very personal example. High standards are good, but not when they negatively impact relationships with others. And as I considered the whole “made bed” dilemma, I realized that there was also a hierarchy of good, a hierarchy of standards, and at the top are relationships. If something is negatively impacting relationships, it needs to be adjusted.

And so, this morning, I made my bed right away. However, I realized it was a preference task rather than an essential. I like my new way of measuring. It restores the importance of people in my life and puts the material back where it belongs. And I thank the LORD for the “aha” moment yesterday even if it was long in coming. Yes, I know, I need to work on patience, too.

My whole point, which I am sure you’ve gotten, is that at times we let the non-essential override our essential mission. As we journey through this life, we are meant to reflect, to consider, to change when we recognize that our path has actually veered us away from where we hoped to be. When that happens through the power of the Spirit, we have the choice of correcting our course or stubbornly staying on the path we prefer rather than the path to which we are called. The LORD gave us our free will. Let us use it well.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.