There’s a small, dirty sock in the hallway.
It anchors me.
No matter what storms of worry might rage. No matter how small the boat might seem. That smaller-yet-still sock anchors me.
It anchors me to this
And this in turn leads me hand-over-hand, down the knotted rope blindly seeking security until my fingers wrap around the heavy words that anchor my unreliable self:
We who have run for our very lives to God have every reason to grab the promised hope with both hands and never let go. It’s an unbreakable spiritual lifeline – an anchor – reaching past all appearances right to the very presence of God where Jesus, running on ahead of us, has taken up his permanent post.
Hebrews 6:19 (The Message version).
Small sock in my hand I find I am holding a message, a door, a light, a way, a reminder that everything – everything – points back to the God who made me and my crew.
In 1874 a woman who lived a century and one state next door to me, composed a hymn that captures this concept. Pricilla Jane Owens of Baltimore, Maryland, could never have imagined that a South African girl with a sock for an anchor would repeat the words she wrote with such desperate hope:
“We have an anchor that keeps the soul
Steadfast and sure while the billows roll,
Fastened to the Rock which cannot move,
Grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love.”
Pricilla remained single and lived her entire life in Baltimore, Maryland.
I am married with two children and haven’t lived anywhere longer than three years since 1998.
But we both needed an anchor.
And we chose the same one.
Mine just happens to look like a small, dirty sock, now and again.
I remember writing a post about my anchors… legos in the floor, reminding me of who I am, whose I am, and those who are in my charge while I’m here walking this earth… anchors away!
Amen to that – legos would also make a great anchor!
Ah, Lisa-Jo…you have convicted me!
Just a couple hours ago I found 2 dirty socks in the sofa cushions. This is a chronic problem around here and I wish I could say I didn’t grumble about the whole thing, but I did.
I can’t say I will never get annoyed over these blasted socks, but now I will think of Him when I see them! My Anchor…love this!
Ha! I definitely think the smaller socks are easier and cuter than the big ol’ ones, that’s for sure!
Such a perfect word picture–(a comforting one too, for a soul weary of change)–that those of us who have “run for our lives to God” (love that!!) have an anchor, a spiritual lifeline to grab with both hands.
I’m soaking this one in this morning. Thanks, friend.
Thanks – I loved when I found that translation in the The Message version – it’s going to be my theme verse this week. I sure needed the reminder.
Lisa-Jo,
I am so glad you tweeted this post. It is so beautifully moving. Such a great reminder to hold to Him.
Ginger
Thanks, Ginger. I need the reminder myself, on a daily basis, to hold onto the right anchor!
Yea, drowning is not good… ha! (Check your mentions/re-tweets. You should find me there. I also emailed you too.)
Have a great day!
I gave you an award! Please stop by and pick it up:
http://www.jennifersikora.com/2010/03/i-am-most-humbled.html
Gosh – thanks for this award! You are too sweet!!
Last week I felt like I was drowning. I’ve spent the last three days away from my husband and two oldest children. It’s been a tough three days as I daily visited my sick grandma in the hospital. But it’s also helped me to recognize that although there are times when I wonder where God is in the midst of my situation I can hold on to the anchor that He’s right there.
Thank you for sharing that hymn…it’s beautiful!
Oh, ouch. That is hard. And lonely. Which makes it even harder. I sure hope you have felt our Father’s strong arms wrapped tight around you in the midst of it all! Because, whether you can feel them or not, they are certainly there!
ok, so God is my anchor… goes w/o saying. but i’m trying to think of what anchors me here on earth in every day life. you make me think :) struggling to think of anything… hmmm…
writing. pugs. getting in bed for the night and sliding into clean sheets. coffee with international creamer heated-up-just-right in the morning.
so many of these things can go away. then what?
But, I think that’s what I was trying to say. I might think that socks and the little boys who fit into them are what anchors me – but really, it’s the God who made the boys that is the true anchor.
So, based on your analogy – it’s not the writing or pugs or clean sheets or coffee in and of themselves, it’s the God who loves that you love writing and pugs, the God who sings over you while you are sleeping in those clean sheets, the God who made the trees that grow the cocoa beans.
Everything – *everything* – is a road sign back to him. Dirty socks or dirty pups – it is all his and he makes it good and beautiful because he is in it.
That’s the anchor.
Does that make sense?
i think so. i think some of my panic was that i couldn’t figure out what was in my immediate path that pointed me back to Him… i just went completely blank.
i don’t like blank. blank gives me that sinking-stomach-lose-your-breath feeling.
this week… i’m going to pay more attention to what draws me back to Him… and write it down so i remember.
:)
Yes, blank is awful.
I know how blank feels.
And I love the antidote that Ann Voskamp recommends and you mention – writing it down – counting the blessings. Her lists are remarkable and thought provoking. If you don’t read her yet, I highly recommend her site!
For example: http://www.aholyexperience.com/2010/03/when-life-presents-itself-as-ugly-dont.html
Sometimes I simply lean down to kiss my younger son’s neck, breathe in his little boy smell, touch his soft cheek with my nose and am overwhelmed that there is a God who would create this beautiful child and hand him over to me for a while.
Sometimes I am astonished that he would trust me with his most priceless creations, too!
Thanks for sharing about this hymn writer. I’ve studied a lot of hymn writer’s lives, but never heard of this one, and so neat to find out she lives right where I live!!
You study hymn writers? How fascinating!
Well not in any formal way, I’ve just read lots of books about various hymn writers’ lives. One of my favorite books is “Favorite Women Hymn Writers” by Jane Stuart Smith and Betty Carlson. They’ve written several books on the subject.
Or rather LIVED where I live.
I love how God takes one object – even as insignificant as a little sock – and uses it to remind us of His glorious love.