A Lesson from Carpet

 I called to schedule an appointment to measure our bedrooms for carpet replacement.

This is a major victory for me.

I’ve been researching and planning this since Spring. I’ve had carpet picked out since August. But I just could not make the call that would get the ball rolling. It filled me with DREAD.

I’ve wondered about myself because of it. Why? Why does it seem so dreadful, so unattractive, so fearsome to make the call to begin.

A couple of reasons have come to mind, the most significant being:

THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT COULD GO WRONG!!

And therein lies the problem. I look at opportunity as a source of trouble and religiously assemble all the possible difficulties that could arise with the certainty that there will still be one that I did not prepare for.

It just seems the responsible thing to do. The Bible tells us to count the cost before committing to a venture, right? Well, I’m just trying to DO IT RIGHT.

But I am not.

Instead of seeing opportunity  -- not just with carpets, mind you – as potential blessing, I am certain it is so rife with the possibility of failure that I would prefer to leave my precious grandgirls to play on 27 year old dirty carpet than risk it.

THAT’S the failure.

That’s foolishly playing it safe and never reaching out to grasp the goodness of life, embracing the risk in pursuit of better and best. I mean, who gets stuck on buying carpet and makes it a problem when it is of little or no consequence in the grand scheme of things?!

Me – I’m the problem. It’s me.

I’m taking this lesson from a trivial circumstance and plan to apply it to much more consequential subjects. A generous accounting of the benefits of opportunity will be my new goal, with a reasonable estimation of the cost.

I want to choose the bigger life and fill my mind with an innumerable list of the blessings God provides. The older I get the more I see them, yet I have work to do to fully appreciate the scope of what God is doing and what He will do for me.

“In youth I sought the golden flower

Hidden in wood or wold,

But I am come to autumn,

When all the leaves are gold.” -- Gold Leaves – by G.K. Chesterton

I want eyes to see that all the leaves are gold.