A Miracle Woven – And It’s In Your Story!
Sometimes it’s hard to know God has a plan. Sometimes it’s hard to trust God has a purpose in using that plan. The disappointment from failed attempts, rejected opportunities and unclear paths leave us questioning why we try so hard and do so much only to see that none of the seeds, or work we put in, prospers and no accomplishment has a harvest. We get frustrated when what we are supposed to do isn’t clear, and situations seem unfair, but I know that my God is making a way, and He is using every small detail to bring about His greater good.
I had a small and dainty thread, dangling from the needle that helped navigate through the small openings of fabric. Weaving in and out, the thread strings the pattern beautifully together with the assembly of x-shaped motions and careful stitching. The vibrant colors of thread are set in their place, with the colors creating a uniform harmony on the embellished design.
Cross-stitching is one of the easiest forms of sewing, but every finished product has an intricate structure. Every thread has its place, and every color must be right. There is a design in mind and a plan to follow, and it is all made by small x’s scattered along the canvas.
Just as a canvas starts out with a design, so do we. We have a clean canvas with no stitching or mistakes. A painting displays how our life will look – a beautiful picture hand-picked by our Creator. Somewhere in time, our canvas gets messy. Our x’s get messed up, and they seem to blur together. We no longer see the big picture we were striving for; instead, the details that got in the way – all we see are x’s.
Looking at the short row of x’s, it is hard to believe that anything can be made from this. Frustration sets in as I critique the imperfections of the x’s I have stitched. The time-consuming, overwhelming details have left scraggly snags and awkward quirks on my canvas. I compile all of these miniature mistakes into a heap of declarations that I, myself, am unable and unqualified to handle anything more.
There is no guarantee the picture will turn out ok. All I can see is this row in front of me, and I’m getting pretty tired of looking at the x’s.
As I pulled the needle back to look at the work, I did not think the design would look this way. I don’t really like it; it seems a little scary, maybe a little sketch. Is it even a good design?
A failed test, rejected friendships, disappointing job, lack of opportunity, all of these can be things we experience that lead to an assembly line of closed doors. It is an assembly line of details that fail to work out.
Now, things aren’t looking the way we want them to look. Things are not going the way we wanted them to go. If we are created by design, why do we feel confused, uncertain, lowly, and unworthy? Why do we feel like maybe we messed up the design? Why do we feel like we are the messed-up design?
We long for a pattern to follow and a finished product to obsess over. We long for the big picture because we are entangled in the details of our mess that brings stress. We long to have control because then we feel we can manipulate the design to be our picture of what is good.
We lose sight of the miracle woven through our story in thinking all of this. We fail to see that these minor snags and messes, these little x’s, all contribute to the bigger part of the design. They all help to make the bigger picture.
It may not be the design you originally wanted, but God, who can see all and is in all, is designing His master creation in you. God sent His Son to pay the ultimate price for your messy canvas so that you don’t have to live in the guilt and shame of a messed-up design. We are all messy, but there is nothing God can’t fix.
Maybe you feel like you are the piece of the work that needs a lot of fixing. The complications have cost too much to fix, and it is hard to see that anyone would think your details are worth anything. Your canvas is too messy, the thread is snagged, and the design is ruined. It is too far gone to fix or save – you feel you are too far gone to fix or save.
God loves you enough to place you right where you are, here in the details of the bigger picture.
God values your intricate detail, and He is the Designer of everything and the Keeper of all. Every designer knows his artwork and the intentions of His artwork; God is our Creator who knows His artwork, you, and the plans He has for you. In Genesis chapter one, He says that it is “very good.” Anything outside of that design will only fall apart and crumble.
God made you to live out that design.
Every thread has its place, every inch of fabric is aligned, every color has a section. All those little x’s are coming together to make a beautiful and unique design. All those x’s, the small details, are combined to display God’s bigger picture – and He chooses to use YOU. YOU are His small detail, and He is crafting a beautiful design that brings Him glory with every thread stitched.
One day, you’ll see how He was crafting all the pieces to use for good. Let Him guide your needle, and you’ll see the beautiful design when He finishes.
One Comment
Ginger
Honey, again you just amaze me. Thank you so very much for sharing.