Some of the older artisan arts and craftsmanship have become rare in our modern, digital-focused world. But some of them do still exist. Have you ever had the privilege of seeing a handmade tapestry? If you have, you know how beautiful a well-crafted piece can be. And if you've seen the front, you may have looked at the back which tells a whole different story.
The front of a tapestry, or even an embroidered work, provides a beautiful image that is soothing to the eyes. The back looks like a bunch of chicken scratch. There's no sense to the image and the threads seem to go in every-which direction. It doesn't make sense. However, it is necessary to create the desired image on the viewable front of the tapestry.
Sometimes our lives can feel like the back of the tapestry that doesn't make sense, looks confusing, and leaves you scratching your head. But others see the front of our caregiving tapestry. It presents a beautifully woven image of love, care, hope, and faith. Those who really care, take time to look at the mess behind the image, just to learn what goes into making the image beautiful. Far too many, just glance at the image, nod and smile, then walk away. They don't take a deep dive into the caregiver's life, because it's not always pretty.
I like to imagine that God is working behind my caregiving life's tapestry and bringing all the different colors, lengths, and strengths of the strings together. Somehow, He turns the mess into something beautiful to behold. How does the song go? He turns graves into gardens. We know He turns the valley of pain into a door of hope - and a tapestry lets us understand a bit more about how He does it. He turns ashes into beauty. And He turns funky threads into beautiful images.
I love thinking about how God is working behind the scenes to bring hope and beauty out of this situation. We feel grief and loss often. But God continues to share His grace, glory, and goodness with us. I'm so glad He didn't say our lives are too messy, the threads of our lives are too short or frayed to be used, or that He didn't have the imagination to create something beautiful out of our messy lives.
Today, I'll remind myself that God's woven Himself into the threads of my life. My meditations will be on how He continues to work behind the scenes to create something beautiful worth beholding. I'll be thankful that He keeps weaving His presence into the day-to-days of caregiving. He never stops. He never gives up. He just looks up from time to time to see the beautiful picture His grace is weaving in my life. I think I'll trust Him to weave Himself into one more day. Will you join me?
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Book of the Week!
21 Days
· Are you a new Christian and you’re not sure how to build the habit of Bible reading?
· Have you been looking for some encouragement to read your Bible?
· What if it was actually very easy to read 5 minutes a day?
· Do you need some practical and applicable ideas for developing Bible reading habits?
Do you want to encourage a new believer in their Christian walk?
Grab a copy of 21 Days! I initially wrote it for the youth group I was pastoring to encourage them to develop the habit of reading their Bible every day. A scripture is provided for each day, along with a thought or two about it. Then, there are more scriptures to read if there is time. The whole point is to make it easy to incorporate Bible reading into your daily schedule. It can be done in 5 minutes, or you can take up to 30 if you have the time. The point is just READ!
In the back of the book is a helpful list of actions you can take to help you incorporate Bible reading into your daily schedule. Use it over and over again, or gift it to someone who wants to learn how easy and rewarding it is to read the Bible every day.
Kindle or Print: Amazon Bookshelf
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