it's okay to be a swatch . . .



Brave enough?

have you ever seen a pattern that you immediately fell in love with .... but upon looking at the instructions and contemplating all the steps it was going to take to finish it ... you decided to go a different route?  or, has there ever been a time when you jumped into something with a wild abandon and about midway through you just hit the wall because things weren't 'turning out' like the picture .....  yet?
do you - - CAN you - - talk yourself Out of knitting something before you ever put your hands on the needles to try it?  or do you have just enough Optimism to give it a go ... being fully prepared to rip it out in order to learn ... or who knows?  maybe even get it right without too many failed attempts?

do you think that your knitting is a reflection of your personality? obviously you're going to knit something in the colors that you love and make you smile ... and more than likely you will choose things that lean on the 'safe' side for those times of knitting when you need to be on auto-pilot and just sit and knit .... BUT are you content to knit scarves for the rest of your life in order to avoid learning something new .... like socks?  hats?  and heaven forbid - - a SWEATER?????   i have learned that when Fear takes over, my 'contentment' often stagnates .. and then knitting a safe "scarf" isn't really even fun [much less fulfilling] any more.

With that in mind i have to ask:  you know that we were created to have fellowship with God? .. to dwell in His Presence and enjoy the very Moment of NOW!  There is not a single verse in the Bible that says we are to Worry about things in the Future but rather Walk in the fullness and joy of knowing Him ... "Walk" is a Present Tense command not a futuristic possibility.  "Knowing Him" is a process that requires a commitment of learning and investing, daily.  Sometimes it means minute by minute, stitch by stitch of each day ... there may even be times when He has to rip something back so i can start over and get it right ... but does that stop me from investing my life in Him?  Am i playing it safe with my faith and simply sitting and knitting a scarf from each day, in order to avoid Him using me to ultimately be a Sweater ..... or what if His plans for me are to be a pair of socks?  Do i worry about how i will fit or do i try and dictate to Him that i'd prefer to be a hat?   Worrying about the finish can, and WILL, consume my attention and keep me from devoting myself fully to Him ....

Basically, it's kind of like worrying about putting all the pieces together while i'm still knitting a single sleeve.  Worrying doesn't make my knitting go faster - i still have to have 2 sleeves and a collar and ribbing for the buttons .... and more than likely it will bring about many more mistakes than i would like to see... which means i have to rip it back out again ... and go back to that place where my mind was focused on the stitch - - on the row - - on the moment!

Summing it all up, friends, I'd say you'll do best by filling your minds and meditating

on things true, noble, reputable, authentic, compelling, gracious—

the best, not the worst; the beautiful, not the ugly;

things to praise, not things to curse.

Put into practice what you learned from me, what you heard and saw and realized.

Do that, and God, who makes everything work together,

will work you into his most excellent harmonies.  

Phil. 4:8-9

Row by Row, Day by Day
He is Knitting my Heart to His!

Now - - each moment of the day can be viewed as a Swatch .. that He is perfecting and not simply wasting time on.  And each day can be seen as a strip .... a singular piece that can and will be combined to create a beautiful Blanket that reflects a journey of love and obedience and time well spent ........We live each day with the end in site ... and the Hope and Promise of an eternity with Him .... but each moment is and should be tempered and filled to overflowing with the Joy of Knowing Him ....  Knit on These Things!