Spring

There are many kinds of springs: the season, a cold stream of water that often feeds into an outdoor type of refrigerator called a springhouse, an open source computer application written for Java, a descriptive term for a source, a metal coil, and the list goes on. And that is just the nouns. The verb forms are far more interesting: to pounce or launch, to move out of place, to cause to warp or bend by force, to disclose unexpectedly, to be released from prison, to pay for someone’s expenses, to emerge suddenly, to jump or vault, to return to a former position, and I’m sure there are more. No, I don’t normally spend my time in a dictionary. In fact, the subject of English wasn’t one of my strengths (of which there were few) in school. This disclosure is necessary since a knowledgeable former English teacher will possibly read this.



This story just seemed to progress starting with a simple broken garage door. Since a friend installed them quite a few years ago, I seldom pay any attention to our garage doors and openers. I just know that they work. One morning there was a lot of squeaking (more like moaning and groaning) and I set out with my trusty silicone spray (and WD-40, if that didn’t work) to rectify the situation. When I glanced up to the top of the closed door (normally not visible when the door is open) lo and behold, I saw a large broken torsion spring. It didn’t seem to impede the operation. In fact, the door seemed to work better with it broken, if that is possible. We had an extended trip planned to Colorado so I didn’t pay any more attention other than a phone call to explore some possibilities.


When we returned after several weeks, the door wouldn’t open at all. Fortunately, I remembered where there was a seldom used house key because the garage door is our normal entry point. Several UPS deliveries were made through the garage door while we were gone and, in closing, the door had jumped the track, jammed and severed a cable. I belatedly realized that that benign, almost hidden spring really must have had a purpose, and apparently an important one. Not only did it have a purpose but it is valuable— wholesale value, about a dollar for each of its 110 metal coils. I didn’t save the broken spring (that would have reinforced a mistaken image, in my wife’s mind) but I couldn’t get it out of my mind.


In fact, the image was joined by several other “spring” applications- one big, one small. From our years of living on the front range of the Rocky Mountains in Colorado, I am very aware of a giant “secret” complex deep within Cheyenne Mountain which is vital to our North American defenses. Supposedly the whole complex is on giant hidden springs and is designed to safely recoil from even a nuclear blast.


I take a lot of pictures. (A picture taker, not a photographer) All my pictures now get transferred from a small electronic card the size of a postage stamp to my computer through a small card reader in the side of the computer. Once I push the card into the slot, a hidden spring pushes it back to the proper seated position to connect electronically. Guess what? When I returned with hundreds of treasured pictures from Colorado, the spring failed and I couldn’t download the pictures.


Many of us possibly feel like springs in our own way. Sadly we tend over time to think of ourselves in terms of a noun and seldom associate ourselves with an action verb. I guess that’s how we think others perceive us and possibly that is accurate in some cases. The part that we often miss is that each of us was designed with a valuable and unique purpose in mind; not unlike the three “benign” springs I’ve mentioned. All too often we establish our self worth and perceived value based on comparison to vibrant action-oriented folks “who make the world go around.” We are great at knowing “what we’re not” but have difficulty knowing “what we are” and what is our unique purpose. In most cases, the “go-go” folks that we secretly compare ourselves to can’t function (especially over the long term) without us just like my garage door and hideden torsion spring. We function as, among other things, a stabilizing security for others. In many cases, folks and situations would ultimately not function or may even self destruct in the absence of our hidden and often sparingly used function.


Take pride in your uniqueness and the function you were designed to fulfill. There is a world out there that was designed with a missing piece and you’re that piece. (Like the “zillion” piece jigsaw puzzles my wife and her friends enjoy) Don’t get overly hung up on your perceived day to day value; some of us were designed to “be ready” for something unforeseen or not readily apparent. The phrase “for such a time as this” rings in my mind, and I think the word “purpose” could be added without ruining the context.


You’re special and unique by design. Live with that confidence and assurance, my friend.