Out of Sorts

and check out this cool turtle I made

What you need to know

• I am excited but overwhelmed with details that are necessary, but mind-numbingly boring to get my new book Barefoot Crossing: 100+1 Conversations with God ready for sale.

• I have spent embarrassing amounts of time on a technical crash related to my domain name, my email addresses, and email server. ALL of which are related to disruptions out of my control. I can only design redundancy systems and workarounds. Just typing that sentence makes me feel smarter than I am.

• I have been thinking about some folks I care about whose life-threatening illnesses are overwhelming and frustrating.

• I have paused writing Barefoot Crossing for the past week due to the above which I describe as a mental/emotional/spiritual/physical condition of being “out of sorts.”

The origin of the phrase “out of sorts”

• I was curious and since this rabbit hole seemed like a lovely distraction from all of the above…I wiggled my nose and hopped in.

• Most often mentioned: “sorts” is an old-time printer’s term for individual metal characters in boxes of type. Obviously, being “out of sorts” would be extremely upsetting.

• BUT there’s an older reference BEFORE movable type was invented! Latin original of our word sort was applied to a piece of wood that was used for drawing lots. It developed into the idea of one’s fate or fortune or condition. Sorts became used in relation to a quality of people - as in “your own sort” or “the right sort” or “of all sorts.”

• “out of sorts” came to mean a lack of quality and/or good luck.

What to do when out of sorts?

• When I am out of sorts, learning has always helped. I learned that from Merlin the wizard in Once and Future King.

• This morning, in the midst of sorting out (there is that word again!) my emails and computer files I found a screengrab I saved of a Rachel Held Evans essay that included this quote:

“ So what did God say to me in the silence that morning? I’m not sure, but I think God said something like, Don’t try so hard, little child, and Hey, check out this cool turtle I made.”

So, my friends, thanks for reading. I am sorting it out. I hope you are too because we are all sorts of people sorting things out. And when we are out of sorts, I am glad we are here for each other.

In the meantime, check out this cool turtle I made.

Peace,

Deb