Tying the Knot

If you thought this blog post was about marriage, (and I thought you might) it's not! Now that you're here and reading, I will reapply this phrase to a parable about furniture. A few weeks ago I decided to buy a black folding chair to use with my desk. After sitting on it for a couple of days, I realized that I needed something a little more comfortable. So I bought a memory foam chair pad to put on top, which has worked quite well. The only problem is, the chair is slippery, and the pad will fall off easily unless it's tied down. Thankfully, the pad has ties at the back, so I can tie to the chair. Until yesterday I had tied a simple overhand loop to both sides, which worked, but about once a day it would get loose and I'd have to tie it again. I was tired of doing this, so I determined to try a different knot, shown here:

You probably recognize this knot--it's the same one most of us use to tie our shoes. Twenty four hours later I haven't had to tie it again! Perhaps it's too early to make a conclusive statement, but I think my problem is solved, or at least greatly reduced.

My experience with this chair and pad applies in a broader sense to life in general. Finding what works best is a process. It takes trial and error, ingenuity and fortitude, thought and action. In short, we can't expect things to be perfect from the start. Give it some time and effort. Work to make things better than they were. If one type of knot doesn't do the trick, find one that does. Realize that this is one important way God intends us to learn: from experience.