Happiness Is

March 4, 2023

I’ve been thinking about socks. Who does that? There are lots of folks who spend less than a minute, total, each week choosing what pair of socks to put on. A good friend of mine chooses to never wear a pair of socks.

I’m contemplating socks today. In my youngest years I wore whatever socks Mom said I should wear. As I got older, I just wore white socks, a safe color choice for any kid.

I started my working life at age eleven, delivering newspapers, and have been working ever since. With my own income, my parents nudged me toward buying my own clothes. The socks I chose were a perfect match for whatever shirt I was wearing. I remember Aunt Alice kidding me about it, always wearing blue socks with a blue shirt, or red socks with a red shirt. I had a style that worked for me.

Most of my adult life I’ve stuck with plain brown or black socks. That’s pretty safe in most all situations. However, …

Some time about a decade ago I discovered “Happy Socks.” A manufacturer put out a line of socks in wild patterns and designs. Soon other companies were making socks with flowers, stripes, cartoon characters, and bright colors. It got my attention, especially when my friend Rodney started to only wear that kind of socks.

What if I could use my choice of socks to add a little fun to my life? It might put a smile on somebody else’s face. If they chuckled at me, I’d laugh with them.

I took the leap. It might not be something anyone else chooses to do, but I’ve become a “happy socks” kind of guy.

I Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people of his own, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” You and I might be strange enough to reach someone nobody else can.