A couple years back now, I noticed that I had a new neighbor move into my neighborhood. The reason I took notice was that he had this pickup truck, with a camper shell on the back, that was just covered in mud. It had obviously been off road somewhere.
 
That truck sat in that condition for a long time. I remember I began to study the mud on it as it almost looked like it had been painted on. Strange, I thought.
 
The other thing I noticed was that camper shell had not been made to fit the truck in question. Though it did sit in the bed, it was not a correct fit. It was just off. …They make camper shells to be exact matches to any pickup truck. I wondered why he had purchase one that did not really fit??? Finances, I guessed.
 
Time when on, and I would sometimes see the guy working on the camper shell. At one point, I saw him painting it. I thought that was really foolish, as it is virtually impossible to get paint to stick to that type of material. I notice he painted it once, then went back laying down a primer coat, and then painting it again. I knew the paint would not hold.
 
I saw him working on this camper shell periodically. Mostly, it did not properly fit into the bed of his truck. I could tell he tried all kinds of things to make it something that it was not.
 
Then, at some point, the camper shell was gone. Soon after, a different camper shell appeared. This one also did not fit the bed correctly. Why, buy that one, I wondered? If you going to spend the money, why not buy one that fits?
 
Again, I saw the guy working on it. At some point, I noticed that he had actually removed the bed of the pickup truck and put in a flat bed where the camper shell sat, also not fitting correctly.
 
For a while now, I periodically see him messing around with the camper shell; both inside and out.
 
I was driving home today, and the guy was working on the inside. It didn’t look very comfortable or living friendly inside. More like a mishmash of someone trying to make a useful camping/living space. But, it just didn’t work. I made the comment to my lady, “You know, you can buy these things all done and ready to go; with a bed, cabinet space, and any of the utilities you may want or need.”
 
I don’t know what it is or why? But, this guy has worked so hard to make something out of nothing. Worked to create something that just doesn’t fit.
 
I believe there is an important lesson in all of this, as I am sure we have each dealt with a similar situation. Though I am imagining on a much smaller scale. The fact is, if it doesn’t fit, it doesn’t fit. You can try and try, but if it doesn’t fit, you can’t make it fit; no matter how hard you work to make it something, if it is not that something, it will never be that something. This goes to all areas of life, from the wrong size of a camper shell, to every THING, and relationship in life.
 
Buy one that fits. Because if it doesn’t, you can never make it fit, and all you will end up doing is spending all of your time, energy, and money trying to make it something that it can never become.