jennifer-roberts I love accessories! Earrings are my favorite baubles, but I also like bracelets and necklaces.
I have several vertical-style organizers in my dressing room that help me wrangle my necklaces but every now and then, usually when I am trying to take one out, two or more of my necklaces get tangled.
It is frustrating and time consuming to disentangle the mess but necessary if I am going to enjoy wearing my jewelry.
These entanglements occur at inconvenient times, usually as I am getting dressed for the day. I must divert my attention away from getting dressed to tackle the tangled mess. I must spend extra time that I don’t have pulling, looping, unlooping and unravelling the strands ever so gently so that they don’t create a bigger mess or worse, so that the strands don’t completely break.
It would be one thing if there was just one knot but there is never just one. There are multiple knots that take time and patience to untangle. Just when I think I’ve gotten all of the kinks out, there is usually another knot or two that still has to be managed.
Sometimes I use the pointed end of a safety pin to get the knots out because my fingers are too cumbersome, or I hold the strands close to my face so that I can look at them close up. Other times, I ask one of my family members to look at the necklaces to see if they can assist me. I am hoping that they have some insight or strategy that I do not. And, oh what a relief it is when the mess of knots is finally untangled, and I can clasp my necklace around my neck completely tangle-free.
Aren’t our lives sometimes the same way, or at least some parts of our lives? Just one big, tangled mess. We experience knots, tangles and kinks that are messy, delicate and time consuming. They seem to arise at the most inopportune times but need to be addressed if we are going to make real progress. It takes time, effort, patience, special tools such as prayer and fasting and sometimes a different pair of eyes like a trusted friend, a mentor or therapist to help us accurately assess the situation and see our way to a better place. Sometimes, just when we think we’ve found the solution, there’s another jumble that beckons for our attention.
If we are not careful, we can lose heart. We can give up and attempt to move on leaving a trail of tangles behind us. Unresolved conflict, unfulfilled dreams, broken relationships, and unchecked sin can keep us bound and weigh us down. But we can find freedom if we take the time, however inconvenient, to work out the tangles of our lives when they surface.
I encourage you to look at your own life. Are there any neglected knots in your past that you need to go back and carefully straighten out? Have you moved on to other career or relationship pursuits without addressing the mess of your past? It’s not too late to go back and untangle the kinks so that you can be better today.
Not only will untangling the mess allow you to be your best; it will help you to shine like the radiant gem God created you to be.
