Slipping Away

Last October, I spoke at the CAPSO Convention in Long Beach. My friend, colleague, and fellow CLASS faculty member, Sharon Norris Elliott, honored me by attending three of my four seminars.

After my “Personality Puzzle in for Educators” session, Sharon praised my presentation but added a kindly caveat, “You kept doing this thing with your skirt!”

“Oh that,” I replied nonchalantly. “My slip is twenty years old, and the elastic is history. So it falls down all the time, and I have to keep pulling it back up. It’s perfectly normal.”

Perfectly Normal?

But after we parted, started wondering about my “perfectly normal” slip. How many times had I done “this thing” with my skirt? I knew I’d hiked it back up two, maybe three times. But what if it had been more? What if yanking up my floor-diving slip has become such a habit that I did “this thing” dozens of times per hour, without even realizing it?

Then I had to ask the obvious question, “Why do I still have that dysfunctional slip, anyhow? It’s been de-elasticized for at least a decade, and yet I insist on wearing it, refusing to replace it because . . .”

Because why?

• Because I like it?

• Because it’s too expensive to buy a new slip?

• Because it has sentimental value?

No, no, and no. The only reason I still have it is because I’ve never gotten rid of it. (As my students would say, “That’s lame!”)

Its Not Just the Slip

“This thing” isn’t a problem that’s confined to my closet. No, if I’m honest, I have to admit that my mind is full of useless, out-of-date memories and ideas that do nothing but take up space.

And I’ve got a heart full of worn-out emotions that I’m loathe to toss out, even though they’re of absolutely no value.

How many dozens of times per day do I reach down and pick up one of these old thoughts or feelings as it falls, hanging on to it as if it’s my beloved security blanket?

I’m happy to report that my sagging slip didn’t make it back home with me. It came to an over-due end in the trash can of Room 208. And not just one but three brand new half-slips now reside in my closet, courtesy of JCPenny.com.

I’m not doing “this thing” any more.

And I’ve decided that each morning, as I spend quiet time with God, I’m going to add to my daily prayer a special request:

“Lord, today point out useless old thoughts and feelings; help me to finally let them ‘slip away’ to make room for all the new You have for me.”