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Previous Challenge Entry (Level 4 – Masters)
Topic: FOLD (10/08/15)
It had never occurred to me that there could be other ways of folding socks. I have always used the stuffing method. You grab the socks, line up their tops and, turning one top over to be inside out, you stuff the two socks inside that sock with the toes poking out. Simple. Could there be any other way of doing it?

Well, yes. A friend showed me her method. She lines the socks up, one on top of the other, just as I do. Then she folds the toes up, and folds them up again before pulling one sock top over the other to make a very neat ball. I have to admit that hers look neater than mine, but then, my folding takes about half the time hers does, and it still keeps the socks together.

Curious now about sock folding techniques, I googled “How to fold socks”. Now I was truly surprised. I counted 39 articles about how to fold socks before giving up the count. I watched a video on how to fold socks by crossing them over and folding them one over the other, then the other over the first to make the neatest folded socks you would ever see.

Using this method it took 17 seconds to fold one pair of socks, so it would take three minutes to fold the 15 pairs of socks in my washing basket after an average wash My method takes about two seconds, a saving of two and a half minutes. And how neat does my sock drawer really need to look anyway?

One website claimed of its method, “This sock-folding method is basically life changing'. Life changing! Folding socks a different way can change your life. Really?

All this got me thinking about what really matters. How important is it to have perfectly folded socks, or underwear, or towels, or anything else for that matter? Do we sometimes concern ourselves with things that do not matter greatly?

Perhaps I am not the neatest sock folder in the world. Maybe my towels don't sit perfectly straight in the linen cupboard. There could even be some dust on my mantelpiece or, dare I admit, a cobweb or two in the corners of my house.

Sometimes it is tempting to miss my daily quiet times with God so I can finish the cleaning, or washing, or folding. Other times, when guests are coming, I get caught up with making sure that things are just so, readying the house, or cooking up a storm, without stopping to spend even a few moments in prayer.

Jesus' good friend, Martha whinged to Jesus that her sister, Mary, wasn't helping her with the tasks of hospitality. Jesus was visiting and there was much to be done in getting things organised. Things had to be perfect for their very special guest.

But Jesus calmed Martha with his words: “Martha, Martha, … you are worried and upset about many things, but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.”¹

What was keeping Mary from helping prepare the house and meal? She was sitting at Jesus' feet, listening to what he was saying. And this was what Jesus commended, spending time listening to him.

Sometimes we need to shut our eyes to the seemingly urgent to concentrate on the truly important. Perhaps the socks can stay unfolded for a while, or maybe the time saved by smart sock folding can be spent in prayer. Indeed, we can even talk to God as we fold our family socks, for that is the important thing to do.

¹Luke 10:41-42 (NIV)
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This article has been read 817 times
Member Comments
Member
Date
Milly Born
10/23/15
I totally identify :) Congratulations!
Loni Bowden-Horn 
10/23/15
I was intrigued by this story. Who would have thunk that there were 39 ways to fold a pair of socks.

Congratulations on your EC win.
Loni Bowden-Horn 
10/23/15
I was intrigued by this story. Who would have thunk that there were 39 ways to fold a pair of socks.

Congratulations on your EC win.
Sheldon Bass 
10/23/15
Amen. Menial tasks such as sock folding become so much more when we remain in a constant state of prayer.

I admit I was a bit tentative: "Sock folding? Really? Oh, now I see, good piece." Congrats on the EC, and keep them coming!
Bea Edwards 
10/23/15
You wrapped/folded your entry up perfectly. Praying while folding! Nice...
Lois Lewis
10/24/15
Good job of writing. I've been trying to learn to, "shut my eyes to the seemingly urgent, to concentrate on the truly important." Congratulations on your win!
Shann Hall-LochmannVanBennekom 
10/27/15
This is nothing short of brilliant. It's one of the things my hubby and I quibble over. Mom taught me to fold socks together at heel, then flip them in half again (those were knees sock days). When I got married, I discovered my husband was like an Olympic - level champion on losing half of a pair (His daughter also has that trait, along with the messy one.) I 'll claim credit for her improvise gene (not the method though!) where she wears mismatched socks. Turns out she started a world-wide trend!) Oh, but I digress. So I started using your ball method to save orphaned socks. Hubby, who wears wrinkled blue dress shirts with brown pants (also not ironed) suddenly had a thing about balled socks. I guess it stretches the elastic out. Not sure why I shared all of that. It could be because it's 4 am, and I can't sleep, so your humorous story brought out my middle-of-the-night giddiness. In my opinion, that's a sign of a truly gifted author. Your words made me think, even if at first it was just about sock folding; but as I read, I wonder what Jesus would think of my heart's sock drawer. It's a mess lately, and while wearing mismatched socks might be cool to do, having a mixed-up heart is anything but. You inspired me not only to look closer, but to do some cleaning out of my heart, tossing away stretched out single socks that weigh me down, and easily allows Satan to poke at the holes in that sock. Of course, as always, God led me to your article not last week at 3 am, but today when I really needed it. It's a delight to see your story not just in the challenge, but in the well-deserved EC column too. You did almost everything perfectly. You nailed the topic in a fun, interesting way. Your beginning pulled me in and the pacing was perfect. Your message was inspired and made a difference in my heart. Congratulations and Happy, happy dance!
Noel Mitaxa 
01/02/16
Sock it to me Ellen, though you haven't covered a vital aspect of this issue - unless you find the same number of socks emerging from the washing machine as there were when they were inserted into it. Apart from that, great work.